Madrid were made to sweat until the final whistle as they failed to build on Gonzalo Higuain's 22nd-minute goal, but in the end the big-spending Spanish giants secured a victory which lifted them to the top of the Primera Division standings.

It was not a spectacular performance from Madrid but they created enough opportunities to have had a much more comfortable night, with Xabi Alonso and Alvaro Arbeloa hitting the woodwork early on and Racing goalkeeper Tono performing heroics to deny Kaka and Higuain among other opportunities for the hosts.

Pellegrini said: "We had the chances to have got a better result, but we didn't convert them.

"We had a fairly decent game despite the fact that Racing got a lot of men behind the ball.

"The team started off playing very well. Despite what the scoreline says, it was not a tight game.

"There have been days when we've played worse and we've scored more goals. We've played neither well or badly."

The victory continues Madrid's hugely impressive start to their league campaign, which is already one of the best in their history.

With 11 games gone they have now accumulated 28 points, scored 27 goals and conceded just eight.

They are also back on top of the standings after erstwhile leaders Barcelona were held to a 1-1 draw at Athletic Bilbao last night.

Goal hero Higuain said: "The team played well. Little by little we are finding the right path and the victory was important.

"We had a lot of chances and we are going away happy.

"Our goal is to get the most out of all the games until Christmas, win them all and go into the week off as high as possible."