Karanka: Real deserve success

Real Madrid assistant coach Aitor Karanka said his side deserve to win the La Liga after they edged closer to the title on Sunday.

Speaking after Real’s 3-1 defeat of Sevilla, Karanka heaped praise on the players for overcoming fatigue and Champions League heartbreak to move to within touching distance of the title.

Real went into the game at the Bernebeu still reeling after their penalty shoot-out failure against Bayern Munich in the Champions League on Wednesday.

However, they still managed to see off Sevilla thanks to a double from Karim Benzema after Cristiano Ronaldo had opened the scoring in the Spanish capital.

“There are now fewer games left and we had to win today after Wednesday’s upset,” Karanka told Real’s official website. “I’ll say it again, this team deserves to win the title.

“Regardless of winning the league title or not, these players have the character and mentality of champions.

“They were tired and sad today, and we could have played better, but we won. We did what we had to do.”