Del Bosque defends Real form

Real coach Vicente Del Bosque refused to criticise his side following Saturday's 2-1 defeat against Deportivo in the Teresa Herrera final.

Real scraped through to the final on Friday after a penalty shoot-out win over Mexican outfit Cruz Azul following a 1-1 draw after normal time.

Alarm bells are ringing in the Real camp as a result but Del Bosque is keeping his cool and told reporters in the wake of Saturday's defeat: "The team still hasn't found it's rhythm."

"It's true that we still haven't played as we would have liked but I'd like to point out to Depor fans that Real Madrid are the best finalists they could have had for the Teresa Herrera and for that they should be grateful."

Regarding the poor performances from Luis Figo and new signing Zinedine Zidane, Del Bosque added: "Figo struggled on the left wing, he was forced to play deeper than normal because Manuel Pablo was playing a very offensive game but generally Figo has no problems playing on either side of the park."

"Zidane is adapting well to his new surroundings, he is integrated into the team and I see no problems regarding his projection for the future."

Uruguayan side Penarol took third place in the competition by beating Cruz Azul 2-1 in Sunday's play-off.