Real Madrid coach Manuel Pellegrini hailed the spirit among his players after they overcame the early dismissal of Raul Albiol to record a morale-boosting victory over Getafe.

Madrid were in desperate need of a good performance and a good result against their local rivals after losing three of their previous five competitive games, including Tuesday's humiliating 4-0 defeat at third-tier Alcorcon in the cup.

And the big-spending Spanish giants achieved both of those things, rallying after the controversial 27th-minute sending-off of centre-back Albiol to produce a superb battling display and win the game 2-0.

"I liked my team's spirit above anything else. Personal and collective performances may vary, but at this club the spirit must always be there, especially when you have to get through difficult situations," said Pellegrini.

Madrid looked much better with 10 players than they did with 11, although Pellegrini dismissed suggestions that Albiol's red card had actually helped his side.

"I don't think the expulsion benefited us, firstly because I believe it was unfair, but also because we had very good spirit from the start," said Pellegrini.

Pellegrini was under the most pressure heading into the match, with Spanish media speculating that a bad result against Getafe combined with a defeat against AC Milan in the Champions League next week would see him fired.

Saturday night's win could have earned the Chilean some breathing space, but the former Villarreal coach preferred to think about how the result can help the team rather than himself.

"This was a very important game for the club because we had bad results last week. We are still amongst the leaders in La Liga and in the Champions League and we hope to make a comeback in the Copa del Rey. This was a key encounter with which to turn our recent situation around," he said.

"I hope this triumph allows us to perform well in Milan and to stay alive in every competition. But every game is difficult."