Sergio Ramos rejects 'poor attitude' claims

Real Madrid captain Sergio Ramos has rejected suggestions that his team entered Wednesday's La Liga clash away to Valencia with 'a lack of attitude'.

Los Blancos had the chance to open up a four-point lead over second-placed Barcelona when they travelled to the Mestalla, but a 2-1 defeat to Los Che has thrown the title race wide open.

Ramos has conceded that "two mistakes at the start" cost Real Madrid, but insists that the defeat was not down to the Madrid giants entering the match with a complacent attitude.

"It was a high-intensity game. We wanted to take at least a point. It was a really good game in hand to increase the gap in the table," Ramos told reporters.

"Two mistakes at the start penalised us. The team went out to play the game we wanted to from the first minute. Our attacking play sometimes is very risky and we lost the ball twice and conceded a goal each time.

"For me, there was no lack of attitude at any moment. We have to turn the page and learn from those mistakes. La Liga is very long and a lot of things can happen."

Real Madrid will attempt to return to winning ways when they travel to Villarreal this weekend.