Real Madrid midfielder Casemiro fears his side’s loss to Real Betis on Sunday could cost the club this year’s league title.
Goals from Sidnei and Cristian Tello saw Betis edge out Madrid 2-1 in Seville, with Karim Benzema’s penalty proving to be not enough for the visitors.
It continued a worrying run of form for Los Blancos – it was their fourth defeat in seven games in all competitions and they have now won just one of their last five games in all competitions.
It was also a significant result in terms of the title race as it saw Barcelona restore their lead at the top of the division, despite losing El Clasico in the Spanish capital 2-0 last week.
“This could cost us the league,” Casemiro told reporters after the game, as cited by Marca, but added: “We have to think game by game.
“To win the league you cannot afford to play games at this level and today we did not play well – Betis were better than us.
“We must congratulate them and keep working to return to the level we gave against Barcelona.”
It was not only the result that was disappointing for Madrid on Sunday night but the manner of their performance as they failed to create clear-cut goalscoring opportunities throughout and were second best to Betis – who had won just one of their previous 10 league games going into the tie.