Rafa Benitez denies being a bus parker

Rafa Benitez has been under fire recently, with fans saying he (Benitez) parked the bus in Sunday's Madrid derby against Atletico Madrid. The Real Madrid boss has often been accused of conservatism and this pragmatic approach led him to pack the middle of the park by starting Casemiro instead of Gareth Bale. 

Speaking on radio Cope's 'El Partido de las 12' and radio Ser's 'El Larguero' programmes, Benitez said:

Am I an ultra-defensive coach?: "Not at all. They said I was too attack-minded in Italy. Here I've been labelled as defensive, a 'bus-parker', yet we've created more chances and scored more goals than any other team..."

On Karim Benzema's substitution: "I needed to give the team some balance at that point in the game. I'm a huge fan of Benzema. If I were Karim, I'd also be angry at being taken off when I thought I was playing well and was on a great run of form. What I'd do if I were Karim is score more goals so that next time I don't have to be taken off and can say: hey, here I am".

Is Cristiano Ronaldo untouchable?: "Cristiano is undeniably first-choice. The advantage he has over the rest is his ability to bang in 50-plus goals a season. Having Cristiano always out on the pitch guarantees us the chance of nicking a goal or more. Therefore, I try to keep him out there for as long as I can. Would I hesitate to bench him? No, not for a second".