Zinedine Zidane has called on his players to forget about their one point lead at the top of La Liga after their shock 2-1 defeat against strugglers Valencia.
Two goals in the first 10 minutes from Simone Zaza and Fabian Orellana secured victory for Valencia, even thoughCristiano Ronaldo pulled one back for the visitors just before half time. Zidane warned his players against complacency as his side chase their first domestic league title since 2012.
¡Valencianistas you can now relive today's victory with #Orellana & @SimoneZaza on the scoresheet https://t.co/gRkTXeEJYQ pic.twitter.com/PoraHbBqLP
The Real Madrid manager said that:"The truth is that we lost the match in 10 minutes. We played well, we had opportunities but two errors cost us two goals.We had 80 minutes to get back in the game, we scored the goal, but we missed a lot in the second half and it's a shame.
"Now, of course, it will be even more difficult. We are still ahead but we have to think that this is not worth anything.No matches are won by going out to the field alone. The first 10 minutes have punished us a lot and we do not look for excuses."
Marcelo: "We started badly. No excuses. We are the ones to blame. We are still at the top but we can't start matches like that." #LaLiga
Real went to the Estadio Mestalla looking for a fifth consecutive league victory, but came up short against a determined Valencia side.Zidane said that his side lacked quality in the final third, which ultimately let them down:
"We have lacked concentration. We played too open, we must be more attentive.I do not think we were bad with the ball, but there is a lack of lucidity on the last pass.
"What we have to do is always be attentive and never lose concentration because they punish us. In the first 10 minutes we were not ready.Now, we think about Sunday's game and it's time to rest. We had a good chance to add to our lead but we have missed it."
Real travel to Villarreal on Sunday hoping to reestablish their distance between them and the chasing pack.