Carlo Ancelotti was left to bemoan a poor second half performance from his side as they went down 2-1 in the Clasico against Barcelona.
The Italian was pleased with his side's first-half showing, in which Cristiano Ronaldo levelled a Jeremy Mathieu opener, but saw his side fall away after the break as Luis Suarez netted a winner that leaves Madrid four points behind the leaders.
"Two very good teams played each other this evening," said Ancelotti after the match. "I think that we played well for an hour, up until the second goal. Then things turned complicated. We were very good in the first half. We were solid at the back but in the end we couldn’t capitalise. We played well for an hour and not so well for half an hour."
The Madrid boss called on his side to keep a cool head before the game and he put the second-half drop down to a lapse on the mental side of things rather than the phyiscal. "I think the problem was more mental than physical," he said. "We didn’t play in the same way that we did at the start of the game."
Ancelotti refused to give up on the league title, despite being four points behind going into the international break. Madrid have thrown away a four point lead to a four-point deficit but the Italian says his men will continue to fight for the title.
"The league isn’t over," he assured. "Barcelona have the advantage but anything can happen in football. We won’t prioritise the Champions League."
