Real Madrid director Butragueno dodges question over Solari's future

The Blancos were made to sweat before pulling away to victory on Sunday, and their coach may yet be in danger of the sack

Real Madrid's director of institutional relations Emilio Butragueno declined to confirm Santiago Solari's continuity at the club after they rode their luck on the way to victory over Valladolid.

In a torrid first half on Sunday Madrid went 1-0 down to Anuar's close-range strike, and could have been even further down were it not for two Sergi Guardiola strikes being ruled out for offside.

Alvaro Odriozola additionally gave away a penalty, only to see Valladolid's Ruben Alcaraz send the spot-kick flying over the crossbar.

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Madrid eventually equalised when Raphael Varane pounced on a horrendous mistake from goalkeeper Jordi Masip to poke home before half-time, and the visitors recovered to run rampant after the break.

Two goals from Karim Benzema and Luka Modric's late strike sealed a 4-1 victory that was far more uncomfortable than the scoreline would suggest.

But after a nightmare two weeks for Madrid that included two defeats to Barcelona and Champions League elimination, Butragueno was tight-lipped on the Argentine's future.

"Solari is a wonderful professional but we are here to talk about the game, talking about Solari is not about the game," the former Merengue striker fired when asked directly about the coach by Movistar.

When pressed to answer whether Solari would be in charge for the next game Butragueno repeated: "We are talking about the game.

"We took our chances, we knew that they would have opportunities but we have taken a magnificent result after a very tough week.

Real Madrid

"The equaliser at 1-1 came at the perfect time for us and we started to grow in the game."

Guardiola's first disallowed strike at first appeared to stand, but was later overturned thanks to VAR with both teams already lining up around the centre circle for kick-off.

Madrid have profited on several occasions from the technology in recent weeks in La Liga, but Butragueno believes VAR aids referees in cutting out mistakes.


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"It is good for referees to have tools like the VAR to make the right decisions," the director added.

Solari's men currently lie in third place in La Liga, 12 points shy of leaders Barcelona.

They will be back in action on Saturday, when Celta visit what will likely be an impatient Bernabeu following three painful defeats on home soil to Barca and Ajax.