Marco Asensio's 41st-minute strike against former club Espanyol earned Real Madrid a 1-0 win at the Bernabeu in Saturday's La Liga encounter.
The Spanish attacker drilled the ball out of Diego Lopez's reach after Luka Modric's shot inadvertently fell into his path.
Madrid were unable to put the game out of their opponents' reach, and the Periquitos nearly levelled up in the second half when Borja Iglesias hit the crossbar.
Relive how the 90 minutes of action unfolded with Sports Mole's live text coverage below.
STARTING XI: Courtois; Nacho, Ramos, Varane, Odriozola; Casemiro, Modric, Ceballos; Isco, Benzema, Asensio
SUBS: Navas, Bale, Mariano, Marcelo, Valverde, Lucas Vazquez, Llorente
STARTING XI: Diego Lopez; Javi Lopez, Naldo, Hermoso, Vila; Perez, Marc Roca, Darder, Granero, Piatti; Iglesias
SUBS: Roberto, Victor, Duarte, Rosales, Garcia, Baptistao, Melendo
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Julen Lopetegui: "You just have to get used to our schedule; it's what happens when you play the Champions League. You have to make the best decisions and we will use our depth now more than ever. We will make our decisions game by game and paying attention to how everybody is playing. It's important to use the whole roster and it makes sense to do so now that we have a busy schedule. Every player will be important and will try to do everything we do during our training sessions."
Rubi: "We want to put up a fight and put on a contest. We're moving forward with enthusiasm, although if we don't accompany it with efficacy, they'll beat us in a second. Still, I wouldn't take a draw if it was offered to me now. I give certain priority to the result because it's important in the short term, but how we play is also important. We can look for new things to surprise them with, but we can't deviate too much from our game. In any case, we're on the right track to do great things, regardless of what happens at the Bernabeu, because the team are letting the fans enjoy themselves and aim high."
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© Reuters
REAL MADRID SUBS: Navas, Bale, Mariano, Marcelo, Valverde, Lucas Vazquez, Llorente
ESPANYOL SUBS: Roberto, Victor, Duarte, Rosales, Garcia, Baptistao, Melendo
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