Real Madrid suffered a shock 4-0 defeat against archrivals Atletico Madrid in the latest league encounter at the Vicente Calderon. This defeat has raised questions about the team’s ability to sustain their position at the top of the table. The defeat has cut their lead to just one point.

Atletico have had the upper hand over Real Madrid in the last few meetings between the two clubs. They cemented this reputation with a thrashing that will be remembered by the home supporters for a long time.

Cristiano Ronaldo missed the last few matches for the reigning European champions due to suspension, but he returned to the starting line-up for this difficult away match.

Ronaldo, however, did not have a great influence after he failed to score in the league for only the second time in the last few months. He could not add to his 28 goal tally, but more worryingly, the fact that Real Madrid conceded four goals in a league match remains a huge factor. Ronaldo says that this defeat can quickly be forgotten with a run of matches in the league and the Champions League. However, he has accepted that the club are on a superior level and should not really be conceding so many goals in a match.

“Real Madrid are better than Atlético but we have to prove it on the field. Anyway, I think we will win the title at the end of the season. Nothing worked today. It is a day to forget. Real Madrid can never lose 4-0 against any team. The team is fine, but today we made a big mistake. These were three points that we lost. No more. Not four points.We lacked enthusiasm and we were not mentally or physically fresh. There was little recovery time from Wednesday’s game [against Sevilla],” said Ronaldo.