Madrid can overturn deficit as captain Ramos remains calm

Real Madrid captain Sergio Ramos said he is refusing to panic after the La Liga champions were stunned by Real Betis and lost ground on leaders Barcelona.

It was a night to forget for stuttering titleholders Madrid, who suffered a late 1-0 loss at home to Betis on Wednesday – extending their winless league run in the Spanish capital to three matches.

A 94th-minute goal from Antonio Sanabria silenced the Santiago Bernabeu and snapped Madrid's 73-match scoring streak as Zinedine Zidane's men fell seven points adrift of bitter rivals Barca after five rounds.

But Ramos was in an upbeat mood post-match, telling reporters: "It wasn't one of our best days, particularly in front of goal. We didn't play great football but we did create a lot of chances.

"We had opportunities to score from the early stages. It's tough to get the first goal in these games and sometimes it just won't come. The team did everything it could, we created chances, many of them pretty clear-cut in which we could easily have scored.

"We've got to move on and turn our attentions to the next game. We've turned around some big points deficits in La Liga in the past. We have to stay calm because there are a lot of games still to come and points up for grabs. I'm going home with a clear conscience, knowing I gave it all I had, even if the result didn't go for us.

"When we don't win, we have to draw conclusions and assess our mistakes. Things can always be improved. We have to keep calm and stick together, that's the key to success."

Madrid have the chance to return to winning ways away from the Bernabeu when they travel to Deportivo Alaves on Saturday.