Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane blamed a slow start by his side for their surprise 1-1 La Liga draw at home to Villarreal on Wednesday evening.
After a sluggish opening period, Madrid captain Sergio Ramos was involved at both ends either side of half-time. First Ramos give away a handball penalty which was converted by visiting skipper Bruno Soriano, then headed in the equaliser with a fine back-post effort from a Toni Kroos corner.
The second half was mostly one-way traffic and Madrid ended the game with 21 shots on goal and 16 corners. But unlike seven days ago against Sporting Lisbon in the Champions League, they were unable to find a late winner, with Cristiano Ronaldo and Alvaro Morata seeing late chances saved by visiting goalkeeper Sergio Asenjo.
After his side had missed a chance to move well clear of Barcelona and Atletico Madrid before their rivals met at the Camp Nou later on Wednesday, the Los Blancos coach told his post-match news conference that his players had not been intense or focused enough during the opening 45 minutes.
"In the first half in general the team was not intense enough, we were not plugged in properly," Zidane said. "You cannot always get the three points in the last minute. We lacked something in the first half, we were much better in second, had chances to score.
"I cannot reproach my players, I'm happy with what they are doing. We cannot always play well, be right at our best from the first minute. I'm going home thinking about the second half and the effort they all put in."
Ronaldo returned from missing last weekend's 2-0 win at Espanyol and remains short of match fitness after his lengthy break this summer, Zidane accepted.
"We obviously expect a lot from Cristiano, he is a decisive player," he said. "He was important tonight and it is very important he is on the pitch for us. If he does not score I do not get worried. What concerns me is having him on the pitch with us, and getting back to 100 percent. In the end he will always score goals."
The draw also means Madrid's run of consecutive La Liga victories stops at 16, equalling the all-time mark set by Pep Guardiola's Barcelona side during the 2010-11 campaign.
"We are not going to talk any more about the record," the French coach said. "What we must do now is rest well and think about the next game, and playing better in the first half. We lost two points tonight, but that can happen.
"It is not the first time we have started a game making things difficult. We will work on that and try and change it for Las Palmas [on Saturday evening]."