Football-Sportclub: Rafael Benitez hails 'exceptional' Real Madrid defence after stalemate in Paris

Real Madrid coach Rafael Benitez was proud of his players after his side earned a point at Paris St Germain on Wednesday.

The Spaniards drew 0-0 at the Parc des Princes in a Champions League Group A showdown to remain unbeaten this season and keep another clean sheet in the competition.

The outcome in France has kept Los Blancos second in the standings, level on seven points with PSG at the halfway stage.

"Real Madrid's defence was exceptional," Benitez said as reported in Marca. "Those who have played deserve all the praise.

"Despite the injuries, we have seen a good Real Madrid."

Real went into the contest having to do without injured Mateo Kovacic, Pepe, Dani Carvajal, James Rodriguez, Gareth Bale and Karim Benzema.

PSG may have dominated possession but Real had more opportunities to score a winner.

"I'm not worried about not holding possession, what worries me is the image that we give," Benitez said."I was convinced that the team was going to give their all.

"We've had more chances than PSG despite having to do without a number of injured players."

Real Madrid captain Sergio Ramos, who returned to action against PSG after recovering from a shoulder problem, was also pleased with the outcome in Paris.

"I'm delighted with the result," Ramos said. "We cannot forget how many players we were without because of injury.

"But we played a serious game and were solid at the back.

"The only thing that was missing was the goal."

PSG, who like Real are unbeaten this season, had gone into the contest eager to show off their Champions League credentials and coach Laurent Blanc was disappointed to come away with a point.

"I'm not satisfied because we didn't get the result we had hoped for," he said to L'Equipe. "The first half has been more disappointing than the second.

"We showed an improvement after the restart but we gave the ball away too easily and we didn't make Real run.

"We made mistakes and bad choices in attack."

PSG have high hopes of going all the way in the Champions League this season to capture the European title for the first time.

Les Parisiens were knocked out in the quarter-finals for the third straight time last season.

"We need to show that ambition on the pitch," Blanc said. "We said we had to beat Real to send a message in Europe but it takes time to reach that level.

"We were able to compete against them and we will try to beat them in Spain."

The two sides meet again at the Bernabeu on November 3.