Real Madrid 'On A Good Path'

Real Madrid assistant boss Aitor Karanka says the Spanish champions are on the road to recovery after a 5-0 demolition of Valencia in La Liga on Sunday.

Cristiano Ronaldo and Angel di Maria both scored braces, while Gonzalo Higuain was also on the scoresheet as third-placed Real closed the gap on leaders Barcelona to 15 points.

However, the result also eased the pressure on Jose Mourinho and his assistant insisted after the game that they had showed they were on the road to improvement after a poor start to the campaign.

“During this season Mourinho has explained several times that we are trying to improve,” Karanka said.

“Everything we do is to improve and it seems that we are on a good path. We have to continue this way.”

He added: “In Valencia we showed what we can do. Now, the cup will be totally different. Wednesday will be different and the fans in the Mestalla will be even more with their team.

“Our mission is to bring us closer to what we did last year [in winning La Liga].”