Zinedine Zidane admitted Real Madrid lacked fluency in their 2-0 win over Espanyol and said the team "can do much better", yet he still had saw positives at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Goals from Zidane's French compatriots Raphael Varane and Karim Benzema saw off the lowly visitors from Barcelona.
There were promising performances from the likes of striker Vinicius Junior and midfielder Federico Valverde, two youngsters of whom much is expected in the coming years.
But it was largely an underwhelming display by a team that ultimately ground down their opponents, Madrid's pedigree telling in the end despite Ferland Mendy's late red card.
"Today, we have to be happy because we continue on a good run," Zidane said afterwards.
"Of course, we can do much better, but we played a very serious game, respecting the opposition, and that is the most important thing."
Zidane said that 19th-placed Espanyol "do not deserve to be where they are in the table", and he acknowledged: "I think we controlled our own game, even though we were missing a bit of fluidity.
"Despite this, I'm happy because we scored two goals and didn't concede."
He added that he continues to feel pride at coaching Madrid in his second spell in the post, saying: "I am fortunate to be here with them.
"It is they who are fighting on the pitch and we have a very good squad. There is still a lot of work and let's not forget where we came from."