Zinedine Zidane ran out of superlatives to describe his star Real Madrid midfield duo of Luka Modric and Toni Kroos after their dominance of Atetico Madrid fired the Liga champions to a vital victory.
Kroos and Modric controlled proceedings with the ball from the off, with the German in particular providing the full range of his passing ability in a man-of-the-match performance.
It has been a spectacular week for Zidane and his side following wins against Sevilla and Borussia Monchengladbach, when it seemed that his job could be in jeopardy.
And speaking to the media afterwards, Zidane had nothing but x-rated praise for his veteran pair.
He said: "We opened them to find the way out, it's true. We had to do things, and then we played fast from one side to the other and, with diagonals, we found gaps.
"They [Modric and Kroos] are fucking great, they are exceptional. Karim [Benzema] too, and Lucas [Vazquez], he is phenomenal, and [Dani] Carvajal, and our captain, and [Raphael] Varane, they are all well.
"The whole game leaves me happy, like the other day in the Champions League [against Gladbach]. And in what as way! Against Atlético, who hadn't lost in 26 games.
"We put very good pressure on the whole field and we didn't leave them for the whole game. They only had one chance with Saul, and we controlled the game very well.
"It's a good week. I'm happy for the players because they always believe in what they do. And when they get things done I'm happy. Let's enjoy and think about Tuesday."
Real Madrid now face Athletic Bilbao on Tuesday, with the opportunity to go level on points with leaders Atletico at the top of La Liga.
Real Madrid 2-0 Atletico Madrid: Player Ratings, Match Stats, Player Stats
Toni Kroos 
Luka Modrić 
Barcelona 
Atletico Madrid 
Real Madrid 
Tottenham 
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