Levante captain Unai Elgezabal lamented his team's 4-1 defeat to Real Madrid on Tuesday, a match that became an uphill struggle after what he felt was "a good start", blaming the space they gave the 'Merengues' for counter-attacks.

"We had a decent start, with a good chance to take the lead. But they caught us on a couple of transitions; if you allow teams like that to do that, they'll kill you," he told 'Movistar+'.

"There are always areas for improvement. We wanted to be strong at home, but the match became an uphill battle. After one mistake, they made it 3-1, and we struggled at the end. It's tough, but we must keep going, improve, and pick up points," he added.

Elgezabal also addressed his "error", referring to the penalty he made against Kylian Mbappe, who converted it to make it 3-1.

"They're individual duels. I tried to manage his step-overs, but I tried to block his shot, and with his quality, he cut inside. The penalty is clear, I'm self-critical, and I need to improve," he explained.

It was just before the penalty that the incident occurred that the Levante captain has complained about, directly pointing at Vinicius: "When we, the fans, and the badge we represent are disrespected, we have to say enough is enough. There are certain situations that I, as a person, cannot accept – attitudes that are out of place."

Finally, he assessed his team's start to the season, having hosted Barcelona and Real Madrid at the Ciutat de Valencia. "Every weekend, regardless of the opponent, we try to compete. We need to start picking up points at home and away to achieve our goal of staying up," he concluded.

U. Elgezabal

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