Real Madrid head coach Carlo Ancelotti has said that his side "need to be more clinical" after Sunday's goalless draw with Real Betis left the Spanish champions nine points off La Liga leaders Barcelona in the table.
Barcelona opened up a 10-point advantage earlier in the afternoon by beating Valencia, and Real Madrid were only able to move a point closer on Sunday night, having been held to a 0-0 draw by Real Betis.
Los Blancos have now scored just once in their last three matches, with the team struggling in the final third since hitting five against Liverpool in the Champions League on February 21.
Ancelotti has said that it is "not normal" for a team "with his much quality" to be struggling in attack.
"I'm upset more than angry. It's not normal that a team with this much quality didn't score more than one goal in the last three games," the Italian told reporters after the match.
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"The players are also disappointed because we've got the quality to score and we've always done it. We need to be more clinical.
"We try to dribble when we shouldn't or pass when we should be shooting at goal. It's a collective problem of individual decisions. Today we could've scored because we had three or four clear chances, but in the last three games the statistic is self-evident: we've only scored one goal.
"It was an open game and that's how we wanted it to be. We lacked effectiveness up front.
"In the end, in the last thirty minutes, we created more chances, but at the moment we lack efficiency. We make one more pass than we should, too many one-twos."
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Ancelotti also insisted that the title race is not finished despite Real Madrid having a large gap to make up heading into the final months of the campaign.
"I don't think the league is over. It's a big lead, nine points, but we have to fight until the end. I don't know what will happen, but we've still got a lot of games to play. One thing that is evident is that we have to do better," added the Italian.
Real Madrid will be back in league action against Espanyol on Saturday before welcoming Liverpool for the second leg of their last-16 Champions League clash, holding a 5-2 lead from the first leg.
Los Blancos will then head to Barcelona in La Liga on March 19, with Ancelotti's side likely needing to win that match to stand any chance of catching their rivals in the division.
Matt Law
