Willian Jose has stressed the importance of Karim Benzema to Real Madrid ahead of Real Sociedad's visit to the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu on Saturday.
The French striker has been one of his team's top performers so far this season, leading Los Blancos to joint first position in the LaLiga Santander standings.
In an interview for MARCA, Willian Jose also discussed Thibaut Courtois' current form and the progress of his compatriot Rodrygo Goes.
It is said that Real Madrid are not in good shape, but they have gone five games in a row without losing
When Real Madrid lose a game it is said that they are in crisis. It is always very complicated, because they have a team full of great players. In addition, in those five games, they haven't conceded a goal, which will be complicated. But we have very good players up front, who know how to take advantage of spaces, such as [Mikel] Oyarzabal, Portu or [Mikel] Merino, and I am sure that we can play a good game and get away with the victory.
You said it before. Thibaut Courtois registers his best streak without a goal, 533 minutes...
He was the best goalkeeper of the last World Cup, so that says it all. He is one of the best, has come to Madrid with a lot of pressure, but I think he will do very well.
Up front there is Karim Benzema, who is the league's top scorer, ahead of even Lionel Messi.
Benzema is a different player. He is a striker who controls the ball very well and gives many assists, something very good for a team. It is difficult to fight for the Pichichi [prize] with Messi, as we already see that there are many games that [he scores] two and three goals. He will be one of the players to neutralise if we want to win, because he is the key to this good Real Madrid form.
Your compatriot Rodrygo Goes has also appeared. What do you think of him?
He is a very good boy, who is able to withstand the pressure of wearing the Madrid shirt at the age of 18. [That's] something that is not easy, and [he is also] scoring goals.