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Embattled Real Madrid coach Julen Lopetegui admitted to being "tired" after his side's shaky 2-1 Champions League win over Viktoria Plzen on Tuesday, but found the energy to fire back at a reporter who suggested he looked down at times during the match. Lopetegui's side won for the first time in six outings thanks to goals from Karim Benzema and Marcelo, although they were hanging on at the end after Patrik Hrosovsky pulled one back late on and the Bernabeu seemed to expect Plzen to find an equaliser. Now tipped to keep his job at least until Sunday's Clasico against Barcelona at the Camp Nou, the former Spain coach told his postgame news conference that any kind of win had been really important given the difficulties of recent weeks, and that he hoped the result could be a "turning point" in his team's season. "The important thing was to win this game, the lads really needed it, and so did their coach," Lopetegui, who saw fans show their disapproval of his team at the final whistle, said. "It should have come much earlier, but we had some adverse situations, and have had to come through. "For me, it could be a turning point today. We created innumerable very clear chances. In football, it is better to have a calm atmosphere, but we will keep taking steps forward. We have a big game on Sunday, that excites us and motivates us a lot, and we will prepare well for it." Lopetegui cut a sorry figure at times on the sideline on Tuesday as the home fans vented their disapproval at a team looking low on energy, ideas and confidence. But an assertion by a local reporter afterward that he looked in poor spirits sparked an emotional response. "Have you studied psychology?" the Basque asked sarcastically. "I am feeling fine, it's just I don't tend to smile very much generally. I am much happier today than after Levante [a 2-1 defeat in La Liga on Saturday]. It was very important to win and break this run. "When there is a moment of weakness, when you do not win, any team is more sensitive to situations. That is why it is so important to win today. I am happy, I am tired, but I am happy. These are three important points, considering where we are coming from. We can play better, of course. But when you take the chances you make, games are different, and teams grow in confidence." A further setback for Madrid could be an injury to left-back Marcelo, who limped off late on after suffering a very heavy challenge from Plzen substitute Ubong Ekpai. "We must wait, it seems a very hard blow, not a muscle problem," Lopetegui said. "I hope we can have him on Sunday." Asked whether he could lose his job even before the weekend's Clasico, Lopetegui had told Spanish TV directly after the game "that is not a question for me." But speculation over his future was calmed by Madrid's director of institutional relations Emilio Butragueno, who was asked on Movistar Plus TV whether the current coach would sit on the bench at the Camp Nou. "Of course, absolutely, with normality," Butragueno responded. "This is football, we hear rumours, but we are going to the Camp Nou confident. We know there are difficulties, but in this type of situation it is very important to remain calm, to remain united, and to trust in our players, we have very good players. Sunday's game is a big motivation for everyone, and we expect to play a great game there." Butragueno admitted that everyone around the club would have preferred a more comprehensive victory against a team beaten 5-0 at Roma last time out, while recalling that the three points had been all-important considering Madrid had themselves lost 1-0 at CSKA Moscow earlier this month. "We had many chances to score, but went home with this tight 2-1," Butragueno said. "Obviously 'el madridismo' wants to see its team play well, score four or five goals. If we had taken our chances better we could have scored four or five goals easily. But it was very important to win this game. "We had come off some very adverse results, we had lost in Moscow so the three points were very important. We respect our fans a lot, but in delicate moments we need their support."
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