Zinedine Zidane said he was "proud" of his Real Madrid players after coming through a tough test against Getafe, while insisting "without suffering you cannot achieve anything".
Sergio Ramos was the hero, scoring the only goal from the penalty spot in the 79th minute as the La Liga leaders earned a 1-0 home win on Thursday night.
After full-back Dani Carvajal was upended by Getafe's Mathias Olivera, the Madrid captain coolly converted the spot-kick with 11 minutes remaining at Santiago Bernabeu.
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The victory was Madrid's sixth in a row as they extended their advantage over stuttering defending champions Barca to four points with five matches remaining.