Atletico Madrid manager Diego Simeone conceded his side were second best to rivals Real Madrid after losing 3-0 in the La Liga derby on Saturday.
Atletico were put to the sword by Cristiano Ronaldo, who grabbed a hat-trick with a deflected free-kick, a penalty and a close rangetap in.
Simeone's side had Antoine Griezmann available after the forward recovered from a knock picked up on international duty, but helooked short of fitness and couldn't influence proceedings.
Speaking after the game toAtletico's YouTube channel, Simeone conceded his side were outplayed for long periods of the game.
"Well, the result is what it is. It's clear that, especially in the first half, the rival was better than us because they played better and had more chances to score," Simeone said.
"We could not do what we did in the first 20 minutes of the second half. During those minutes, we were better, had chances to score, played in the rival's field and controlled the game. Afterwards the penalty broke our dreams of getting back into the game.
"The first goal was scored from a free-kick that touched the wall. From my position, you need to be very calm. It's clear that we have to look for better solutions, provide the football players with solutions so we can improve and maintain the level of the 20 minutes of the second half that were quite good."
The result leaves Atletico nine points behind La Liga leaders Real Madrid in fifth place, with the club looking unlikely to challenge for the league title.