Real Madrid boss Rafael Benitez has defended his decision to substitute Karim Benzema in Sunday's Madrid derby against Atletico Madrid.

Benzema opened the scoring in the ninth minute of the capital clash, but for the fifth time in six La Liga games this season, the French international was substituted before the end of the 90 minutes.

The striker has admitted that he is "fed up" with being replaced and Benitez has faced criticism after Atletico levelled in the latter stages.

The Los Blancos manager, however, has stood by the decision, which he made in order to "freshen things up" in a wide position.

"Benzema did well, but I substituted him because we needed to freshen things up on the wing," Benitez told reporters.

"With Gareth Bale's speed we were able to play between different areas of the pitch and with Cristiano Ronaldo up forward we kept up our attacks. We balanced the team and maintained our attacking punch."

Real Madrid have now won just one of their last nine games against Atletico in all competitions.