Borussia Dortmund boss Peter Bosz insisted the quality of his team's opponent and not his defence was to blame for their "deserved" 3-1 loss to Real Madrid in the Champions League on Tuesday night.
A Gareth Bale opener and Cristiano Ronaldo double saw the visitors through at Signal Iduna Park, with the Bundesliga leaders only able to muster a single goal through Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
Dortmund are without a point after two Group H matches, having lost to Tottenham at Wembley Stadium two weeks ago, and with a pair of matches ahead against their neighbors at the foot of the group Apoel Nicosia.
"We defend with 11 players and we attack with 11 players. You cannot blame the defence," Bosz told SID after the match.
"Against a very good opponent, who made almost no mistakes, we always were a step late.
"We need to defend better. We couldn't pressure the ball in nearly every moment of the game. That's what makes it hard against such opposition, who have quality. We have to analyse this and improve."
The final outcome, however, could have been different but for the officials not giving anything after 14 minutes when Maximilian Philipp's ball back across the six-yard box looked to have hit Sergio Ramos on the arm as Keylor Navas punched clear from the goal line.
But despite the controversial no-call and the disappointment of the defeat, Bosz is remaining positive.
"It was 0-0, and it [the Ramos incident] was a clear handball, but also Real Madrid were better than us and deservedly won,'' the Dutchman said.
"However, there are still four [group] games left. We must win against Nicosia and then see where we are.''
Information from PA Sport was used in this story.