Real Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane has admitted that his side are 'hurting' after losing their 40-match unbeaten streak on Sunday night, a late fightback from Sevilla dashing the Primera Liga leaders' hopes of a defeat-freeseason.
An 85th minute own goal from Sergio Ramos cancelled out Cristiano Ronaldo's opener, before a long-range stunner from Stevan Jovetic completed the turnaround deep into injury time.
Stevan Jovetic in January:
10th: Joins Sevilla.
12th: Scores on his debut.
15th: Scores the goal to end Real Madrid's 40-game unbeaten run. pic.twitter.com/oRYkRHxKWV
Zidane was in a defiant mood post-match despite the defeat, praising his side while admitting that the loss was disappointing: "We came five minutes away from winning," he said in quotes on theclub's website. "The two teams put in a great performance and we just needed to hold on for those five minutes. It's tough to take after the performance that we put in.
"The defeat is a bit harsh on us, but that's the way things go in football and we must continue to perform as we have been up until now. We knew that the run would have to come to an end at some point.
WATCH: Sevilla forward Stevan Jovetic ends Real Madrid's 40-game unbeaten run - https://t.co/E4IdNXyqym pic.twitter.com/5OW99U32hy
"We've now got to look forwards. We knew that the run would come to an end and all of the games from now on will be tough. It's a pity that we conceded two goals with just five minutes to go. We're hurting after the defeat, but we've got to now turn our attentions to Wednesday's game."
He continued:It's very difficult now to lift the players after a defeat like that but it wasn't due to lack of concentration. There are moments within the game and these things can happen over the 90 minutes. It's what it is and we'll look at the things we can improve on. I'm a bit disappointed with the two goals."
For more from Chris when he's not writing on 90min, follow him on Twitter at @ThatChris1209
Stevan Jovetic couldn't get a minute at Inter this season (inexplicable). Joins Sevilla. Two games against Madrid. Two goals.