ZINEDINE ZIDANE INSISTS Real Madrid are not in crisis mode following their 3-1 Champions League defeat to Tottenham.
The holders were dispatched in ruthless style at Wembley on Wednesday, with Dele Alli scoring twice and Christian Eriksen adding a third before Cristiano Ronaldo netted a consolation.
The defeat came just three days after a shock 2-1 loss to Girona left the La Liga champions eight points behind Barcelona domestically.
It was also their worst group-stage loss since a 2-0 defeat to Juventus in November 2008 and their first at this stage of the competition since a 2-1 loss to Borussia Dortmund in 2012.
Madrid’s form has left Zidane facing the first serious questions about his capabilities since taking charge in January 2016, but he is adamant there is no reason to panic.
“We’re not in crisis,” he told a news conference. “I’m not worried and I won’t be for the rest of the year, whatever happens.
“Losing two games in a row can’t be good for us but we have three or four days to rest and then football continues. The analysis I can give today is that we lost to the better team.
“The dressing room can’t be happy or be in high spirits. This is a bad moment but we have to accept it. We must keep our heads up.
“We didn’t play a bad game, we had some chances and, as has been happening with us lately, we didn’t find the goal.
“We’re missing that calm that we’ve always had in front of goal. Sometimes you have two chances, you score two goals, but not today – we had chances and we didn’t take them.
“We lost but it’s a long season. We congratulate the opposition and now we have to reflect. We’re all very disappointed.
“Maybe we’re not at our usual level. These things happen in football. It’s upside-down at the moment.”
Spurs’ win sealed their place in the knockout rounds and put them three points clear of Madrid at the top of Group H.
Zidane’s side were given a boost by APOEL holding Borussia Dortmund to a 1-1 draw, though, with that result ensuring they need only two more points from their final two group games to go through to the last 16.
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