Zidane refutes Real Madrid 'crisis' talk after Tottenham defeat

Real Madrid suffered its worst Champions League group-stage loss in nine years against Tottenham but Zinedine Zidane is not panicking.

Mauricio Pochettino of Tottenham Hotspur (left) and his Real Madrid counterpart Zinedine Zidane shake hands after Madrid’s Champions League loss on Wednesday night.

Zinedine Zidane insists Real Madrid is not in crisis mode following its 3-1 Champions League defeat to Tottenham . The holder was dispatched in ruthless style at Wembley on Wednesday, with Dele Alli scoring twice and Christian Eriksen adding a third before Cristiano Ronaldo netted a consolation.

The defeat came just three days after a shock 2-1 loss to Girona left the La Liga champion eight points behind Barcelona domestically. It was also its worst group-stage loss since a 2-0 defeat to Juventus in November 2008 and its first at this stage of the competition since a 2-1 loss to Borussia Dortmund in 2012.

Madrid's form has left Zidane facing the first serious questions about his capabilities since taking charge in January 2016, but he is adamant there is no reason to panic. "We're not in crisis," he told a news conference.

"I'm not worried and I won't be for the rest of the year, whatever happens. Losing two games in a row can't be good for us but we have three or four days to rest and then football continues. The analysis I can give today is that we lost to the better team.

The dressing room can't be happy or be in high spirits. This is a bad moment but we have to accept it. We must keep our heads up. We didn't play a bad game, we had some chances and, as has been happening with us lately, we didn't find the goal. We're missing that calm that we've always had in front of goal. Sometimes you have two chances, you score two goals, but not today - we had chances and we didn't take them.

"We lost but it's a long season. We congratulate the opposition and now we have to reflect. We're all very disappointed. Maybe we're not at our usual level. These things happen in football. It's upside-down at the moment."

Spurs' win sealed its place in the knockout rounds and put it three points clear of Madrid at the top of Group H. Zidane's side was given a boost by APOEL holding Borussia Dortmund to a 1-1 draw , though, with that result ensuring it needs only two more points from its final two group games to go through to the last 16.