Real must banish doubts after rediscovering defeat

By Richard Martin

REUTERS - Real Madrid will be seeking to reassert an air of invincibility when they host Malaga on Saturday after their stunning 40-game unbeaten run was replaced by a two-match losing one with consecutive defeats to Sevilla and Celta Vigo.

Zinedine Zidane's side still lead the standings by two points with a game in hand on nearest challengers Sevilla and third-placed Barcelona, who are a further point behind, but are facing fresh doubts following the two losses.

Real conceded twice in the final 10 minutes to lose at Sevilla in their last league game and were undone twice in quick succession on the counterattack to lose 2-1 at home to Celta on Wednesday, leaving their King's Cup hopes hanging by a thread.

"It was a strange game and we didn't start the way we had prepared. After playing like we had, the defeat (to Sevilla) annoyed us and we could not rest well," Zidane told reporters after losing successive games for the first time as Real coach.

"There can be no excuses, we are Real Madrid and we have to keep working and think about the next game. We will overcome this. The good thing is now we have a game on Saturday."

Real have suffered from frequent lapses in concentration at the back this season but those cracks were largely papered over down the other end thanks to their ruthless attack, which helped sustain their record run in Spanish professional football.

This is the second blip Real have experienced this season and although Zidane said he had little doubt his side would bounce back, he returned to a theme he visited when they drew four consecutive games -- their lack of intensity.

"I think our opponents caused us damage in both games and something is wrong for sure. We didn't do what we had prepared, especially our intensity. The intensity wasn't good at the start of the game," he added.

"We have done well until now but we can't be happy with the results of our last two games. The performance in Sevilla was good, today it was a bit worse, but we shouldn't worry."

Sevilla's title credentials have been talked up following the win over Real and they visit bottom side Osasuna on Sunday in search of a fifth straight victory, although any complacency will be countered by memories of last month's loss at struggling Granada.

Also on Sunday, champions Barcelona will be looking to build on their confidence-boosting 5-0 win over Las Palmas last week when they visit Eibar, who are ninth in the standings and one point from matching their best start to a La Liga season.

(Editing by John O'Brien)