Carlo Ancelotti praised his side's efforts despite crashing out of the Copa del Rey against Atletico Madrid on Thursday night but says they must cut out the mistakes.
Goals within the first minute of each half, both scored by Fernando Torres, cost Madrid and helped Diego Simeone's side progress to a double date with Barcelona in the next round thanks to a 4-2 aggregate victory which stretched their unbeaten run to five matches against Los Blancos since the Champions League final.
The Italian was disappointing to bow out of a competition that gave him his first trophy as Madrid boss but says the intensity in his side's play will serve them well for the rest of the season if they cut out the errors.
"The key to the match was in the two mistakes," he said after the match. "It's something that we have to correct. But we can't forget our first hour of the match, which, for me, was spectacular. The Bernabéu helped us throughout the match with a lot of enthusiasm and support. The atmosphere was extraordinary.
You have to assess the match. Firstly, we were made to pay a heavy price for our mistakes, while during the first 60 minutes we played very well. You can't play better. It's difficult when you go 1-0 down at the start, but we stood up to be counted and played very well. We have three weeks to prepare for the Champions League and this is good for the team."
The only silver lining to the loss is that Los Blancos will not have to play two intense Clasico matches against Barcelona in the coming weeks and can focus solely on La Liga before returning to Champions League duty with a clash against Schalke.
Madrid make the short trip to Getafe on Sunday (12:00 CET) and will look to get back to winning ways and maintain their spot at the summit.