Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho felt it was mission accomplished for his side after seeing them beat Valencia 2-0 on Saturday evening.
Looking to bounce back from their humiliating 5-0 mauling at the hands of bitter rivals Barcelona on Monday, Madrid started off slowly against fifth-placed Valencia and only pulled away in the final 25 minutes.
The dismissal of Valencia midfielder David Albelda gave Madrid the numerical advantage and Cristiano Ronaldo ensured it was not wasted, scoring in the 73rd and 87th minutes to secure a 2-0 win.
It may not have been the most fluid or entertaining of performances from Madrid, but for Mourinho the key was getting the three points.
"The most important thing was to win a difficult game after the bad result of Monday," said Mourinho, who opted to start with a more defensive line-up than usual with Lassana Diarra joining Xabi Alonso and Sami Khedira in midfield.
"We lacked self-confidence and I didn't want us to suffer. If we had conceded a goal it could have destroyed what self-confidence the team had left and that's why I played with a stronger central midfield.
"We were never scared about losing. We've won 11 of our 14 games so far, and all of our home games. We've also won four of our five Champions League clashes."
He added: "It wasn't the day to have a great game, nor score lots of goals, the only thing that mattered was winning.
"It was important to leave a different impression at home."
Madrid director general Jorge Valdano, whose club remain two points behind leaders Barca at the summit, added: "This result was especially important.
"We received a blow on Monday and if we hadn't won here we would have run the risk of falling adrift in the title fight.
"We had to wait for the win, but it arrived in the end and it could have been even bigger.
"We want to thank the crowd for the support it always gives us and the team for their efforts against a great side that have made things very difficult for us."
