Speaking to Real Madrid TV after the draw in Monaco, Real director Butragueño pointed to the intensity that now defines every fixture under the league-phase system.
"Unlike the format that existed before, now you compete against everyone. That means every match is practically a final, because the objective is to finish in the top eight, and ideally among the top four, which would give us home advantage right through to the end," he said.
He added that the emotional stakes of continental football only heighten that pressure.
"We are aware of the passion with which these kinds of matches are experienced, and that makes them always extremely difficult. We compete with total belief, trusting in our players, but aware that every match is a challenge and requires a very high level of performance if we want to achieve our objectives."
Butragueño singled out the play-off round before the last 16 as the outcome Madrid most want to avoid.
"It punishes you more in the calendar, because they are two matches of enormous intensity with the risk of not continuing in the competition," he said. "It's essential to start picking up points in the opening matches so the team builds the confidence that allows us to finish among the best."
Asked about the summer's recruitment and José Mourinho's return to the dugout, Butragueño framed both as reasons for optimism.
"The club has made an effort this summer. Players of the highest level have arrived and Mourinho has returned, a man with great experience who knows how to get the best out of every player. We are living this season with enormous excitement and with the hope that it will be a great season for Real Madrid," he said.
On the team's start to the league campaign, still adjusting to the staggered return of players from the World Cup, Butragueño struck a measured but positive tone.
"We've started well, but it's only just begun. There are players who were at the World Cup and have been returning gradually," he said. "What we saw at the Bernabéu was extraordinary, and that gives a real emotional lift to the whole of Madridismo. The demands are constant, and the squad has the level required to meet the expectations of the supporters."