Rafa Benitez hopes Real Madrid can enjoy a tranquil international break after seeing his team responded to their critics in emphatic fashion with a 5-0 thrashing of Real Betis on Saturday night.

After being held to a goalless draw in their season opener against Sporting Gijon the previous weekend, Los Blancos had been under scrutiny in the build-up to the game with particular concern raised about their lack of goalscoring.

However, braces for Gareth Bale and James Rodriguez, along with a strike for the fit-again Karim Benzema, dispelled the notion that Benitez’s team will struggle for goals.

And the manager was delighted with the nature of his team’s victory, saying: “What pleases me most is scoring five goals. “When you score three, what you’re looking for then is to not concede and to continue threatening in attack. We lost our concentration a few times but kept on attacking and that’s what I liked the most.”

On an individual level, Bale did the most to stabilise his position in the team by netting an early opener with a header before completing the scoring with a long-range thunderbolt, as well as delivering the cross for Benzema’s goal shortly after half-time.

However, the Welshman was outshone by a superb display from James, who scored two eye-catching goals – a direct angled free-kick and a spectacular overhead volley – and set up Bale’s opener with a perfectly measured cross.

But Benitez, who had been criticised for leaving James on the bench for the previous week’s draw in Gijon, lived up to his ‘Tinkerman’ nickname by refusing to guarantee a place in the team for the Colombian star.

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“His quality is unquestionable and when we think he can bring something to the team, he will play,” he said. “If not, one of his team-mates will play. I don’t get involved in this debate about whether one player is picked over someone else.” 

The only negative aspect of the evening was another blank for Cristiano Ronaldo, who has not yet got off the mark this season despite peppering former teammate Antonio Adan’s goal with shots throughout the encounter.

Benitez is unconcerned, however, shrugging: “Cristiano had the most attempts on goal of all of our players. If the team continues to create chances, his goals will come.”

James, meanwhile, rates the overhead volley, which sent his team into a 4-0 lead as one of the best goals he has ever scored. The former Porto and Monaco star boasts an impressive portfolio of spectacular strikes, including a beautiful volley for Colombia against Uruguay in last year’s World Cup Finals, which was voted the goal of the tournament.

The usually understated midfielder indulged in a rare outbreak of immodesty and he said: “That overhead volley is among my best three goals. I had never scored a goal like that before.”