Real Madrid players confirmed they will focus on the coming game against Atletico Madrid to maintain their lead in the La Liga, fearing falling behind in the neck-and-neck rivalry with Barcelona After losing two points in the goalless draw with Valencia in Madrid on Sunday, Real Madrid players have shown they fear not gaining points in the coming game against Atletico Madrid on Wednesday, recognising and they must focus on winning to stay on top of the Spanish Liga. "We had more chances than Valencia, but they also had several and we could have dropped more points. We earned an adverse result at the Bernabeu, but the match was beautiful and people must have enjoyed it both at the stadium and their homes," Real Madrid goalkeeper Iker Casillas was quoted as saying on the club's official site after the game. "Mentality is very important. The lead we had has been reduced, but we shouldn't cry about it. We have a large lead, but it isn't definitive and we must continue focusing on one game at a time. We must focus on winning against Atletico Madrid. This moves very quickly and we play many games in few days. We have to go on," he added Real Madrid are in driving seat of La Liga teams table by four points over their arch-rivals Barcelona. "People can judge the referee's performance from what they saw on TV. We don't comment on that. We have to think about the derby," "Every match is vital and they'll all be like finals, so we'll think about Bayern Munchen, Sporting and Barcelona after facing Atletico, who are the ones that matter to us right now. We want to take three points we failed to take tonight. Real Madrid can lose the league title because we haven't won it yet, mathematically, and there is a team close behind that also has a lot at stake. We cannot live just on the fact that our lead used to be 10 and 8 points strong," Casillas said. Moreover, the Los Blancos midfielder Xabi Alonso revealed his disappointment on the draw against Valencia and losing points but he demanded his teammates do their best in Madrid's derby this Wednesday. "We expected to take three points tonight, mainly because we played at our stadium, but there's nothing we can do about it now. Every point is essential and we must focus on Wednesday's match against Atletico Madrid," Alonso told the real Madrid's site. "We have the lead and, regardless of how large it used to be, we must move on. We'll have to play two league games before our first match against Bayern Munchen." Real Madrid's draw with Valencia is the fourth draw for the Whites club as they drew with Racing Santander, Villarreal and Malaga. (For more sports news and updates, follow Ahram Online Sports on Twitter: @AO Sports)
