Zidane content after debut win

Bale stooped to head home the second shortly after, and ended any hopes of a Deportivo fight back when he expertly slotted home Cristiano Ronaldo’s low cross four minutes after the break.

And Zidane said: “I understand that he can be annoyed with the departure of Benítez because he was an important coach for him but he is going to have the same affection [from me] as with Rafa”. Even before the game started, there was a sense that things had improved. “I had a good relationship with Rafa [Benitez] and it was disappointing to see him go, but this happens in football”.

There is definitely something different about Real Madrid since Zinedine Zidane took over. “It’s not easy to win 5-0 against a side like Depor and what I’ll take from this match is the attitude of the players who played and those who didn’t”, said Zidane.

Madrid fans increasingly turned their frustrations on the team and Rafael Benitez towards the end of the Spaniard’s unpopular tenure at the Santiago Bernabeu. But I think we’re all working the same amount on the football pitch we’re all giving 100 percent and the most important thing is we win games and win titles.

“As a player, (Zidane) was incredible”, he added.

“You try and emulate people like that”.

“A win always makes the coach happy”.

Dressed in a tight-fitting black suit, with a crisp white shirt and a thin black tie, the shaven-headed Frenchman cut an elegant figure on the touchline, in contrast to the plump, studious-looking Benitez.

Coupled with the alleged blackmail scandal that has seen the former Lyon star banned from the French national team, it is said that Madrid president Florentino Perez has been left disappointed by his star forward.

“He is a man the fans are extremely fond of, a world soccer legend”, former Real and Spain striker Emilio Butragueno told Spanish television. “The fans were fantastic”.

Manchester United have been linked with the winger for a few seasons now and this season, they are trying their biggest offer to date, £90m.

“Zidane is Real Madrid’s fifth Coach since 2009, but is the Coach always to blame?”

Benzema rounded off the victory with a thumping shot that bounced in off the crossbar as Zidane enjoyed a comfortable start to life in the Bernabeu dugout.