Real Madrid midfielder Xabi Alonso Tuesday admitted that his side on occasions relies too much on the contributions of striker Cristiano Ronaldo.
Ronaldo has scored 24 goals in the Primera Liga this season, but it looks as if that is not going to be enough as Real Madrid trails league leaders Barcelona by seven points.
Speaking in an interview in Tuesday's edition of sports paper Diario AS, Alonso began by denying that his side had lost any options of winning this season's title.
"That's not the case," he said. "There are a lot of games to play and points to be won. We know that it is complicated and that we have less margin for error, but we have to carry on fighting. We have to keep our faith."
"There are a lot of surprises in football and we have seen that in the history of the game. We have to carry on and we have to win our matches," said Alonso.
Real Madrid has dropped points in recent away matches, failing to win away to Almeria and last weekend, against Deportivo la Coruna. They also lost away to Osasuna, dropping a total of seven points against sides that are all close to the relegation zone.
"The teams are the bottom of the table are playing for their place in the Primera Liga and they give everything. Also it is always special to play against Real Madrid, as was the case against Deportivo last weekend. We have to live with that and it is not an excuse," said Alonso, who is also a Spain international.
The former Liverpool midfielder did admit that at times he and his companions rely too much on Ronaldo.
"That is true on many occasions. He is playing very well and against Deportivo at the weekend he played very well but didn't score. However, whether Cristiano scores or not has nothing to do with whether we play well or not," commented Alonso.
Real Madrid's next game in the Primera Liga is on Thursday night when they entertain Malaga. Malaga is currently in the relegation zone and coached by Manuel Pellegrini, who last season was coach at Real Madrid.
