Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti admitted his side are playing poorly, in the wake of their 1-0 defeat away from home against Athletic Bilbao, meaning that Barcelona have covered the ground between the two title rivals, and are now ahead of their title challengers in the league table following their 6-1 thrashing of Rayo Vallecano earlier today.
Ancelotti admitted the following: "I think we pushed hard in the second-half and we were attacking all the time, the team has a problem in that we need to have a clearer idea of what we're doing in attack. We don't circulate the ball fast enough and the strikers are not getting any chances. It's weird to say that Real Madrid have troubles in attack because we have scored many goals but it's true, our problem is mostly to do with attacking, we are not finding the same attacking solutions as we did previously.
That is the problem that we need to fix; we are lacking a little effectiveness up-front. My team is playing poorly and I have to take all the responsibility. But I will not give up because the league is complicated and it is not finished; we will work hard to turn things around."
Meanwhile, Bilbao's young defensive talent Aymeric Laporte, who watched on from the stands as his side shocked the defending Champions League winners at San Mamés stated the hosts "expected more" from their visitors on Saturday afternoon.
Laporte said: "It is true that we were expecting a tougher Real Madrid - they remain a great team; they have great players, but they were a little below their usual level - it happens in football sometimes."
STAT: Cristiano Ronaldo, 2014 Ballon d'Or winner, has now failed to get a shot on target in four of his last eight La Liga matches to date.