Real Madrid coach Manuel Pellegrini praised fit again Brazilian midfielder after his side's narrow 2-1 win in Zaragoza on Saturday night.

Kaka, who was making his first appearance after six weeks out with a groin injury, came on as a second half substitute. He then kept Madrid in the hunt for the league title with the winning goal eight minutes from time.

"Kaka has always been an important player for us and he proved it again tonight," said Pellegrini, who admitted his side had not been at its best against an aggressive Zaragoza team that is battling to avoid relegation.

"I am always worried when I see the team play anxiously and nervous, but we managed to calm down and earn the win," he told the club's website on Sunday.

"We have two or three great chances that we didn't finish in the first half, but we were prepared to give everything right up to the final whistle. I don't think we would have deserved the 1-1 draw," added the Real Madrid coach.

The win leaves Real Madrid one point behind league leaders FC Barcelona and Pellegrini admitted his side still needs its rivals to slip up in one of the four remaining games for his team to have a chance of winning the title.

"It's not in our own hands. Our goal is to reach the 98-point mark and hope that Barcelona make a mistake," he concluded.