Real suffered only their second loss of the season 24 hours after leaders Barcelona racked up their 15th consecutive win, slipping seven points behind their arch-rivals.

"The result is tough but not definitive," Real director general Jorge Valdano said.

"At the midway point of the season it isn't possible for the championship to be over for Real Madrid. It is well known our capacity to fight and to never give up in these types of situations." Real had a tough King's Cup semifinal first leg at Sevilla last Wednesday, which they won 1-0, and the return is this week but they have lacked a cutting edge in recent matches.

They struggled to control Osasuna and missed Xabi Alonso's influence in midfield as he was kept on the bench after a bout of flu, only appearing when they were chasing the game in the second half.

"The situation is much more difficult with regards to Barcelona, but come Wednesday we'll only be thinking of that game," coach Jose Mourinho said.

"My players worked hard and I have no complaints. We lost to a rival who gave their all, who have had a week to prepare, and who pushed themselves to the very limit.

"I have to congratulate them. I'm not saying they deserved to win but they deserved a draw." It was only Real's second defeat of the season after their 5-0 hammering at Barcelona in November.

"We have to think positive," top-scorer Cristiano Ronaldo said. "It's difficult but we have to think positive."

Mourinho was surprisingly calm, refusing to make excuses or blame the players for the defeat.

"I can't fault the players as they did their job," said Mourinho. "We didn't deserve to lose the three points but we lost against a team that gave everything and had the whole week to prepare for the match.

"In recent matches we haven't conceded goals and one goal is not dramatic as we had chances to score.

"In the first half Karim (Benzema) had a good opportunity and Cristiano (Ronaldo) another with a one on one. We had chances in the second half but couldn't score against a team that defended very well." Mourinho threw on new signing Emmanuel Adebayor, on loan from Manchester City until the end of the season, but the debutant could not conjure up an equalizer as Real fired blanks.

"I prefer to lose like that, when the opposition have done a lot, rather than losing because my team gave away the match," Mourinho added. "We didn't give anything away here. You give away points if you don't fight and because you are relaxed but that wasn't the case." "It is always difficult in Pamplona and I don't think many teams win here," Mourinho added. "It is a match that you win by being solid defensively and scoring.

"We had chances but didn't take them and it is three points lost and our second league defeat of the season. Congratulations to Osasuna for giving their all to get a positive result, but I am calm as I don't have anything to reproach the players for." The only thing that didn't sit well with the former Chelsea coach was Osasuna's apparent ploy of throwing an extra ball on to the pitch to interrupt the game.

"One thing that I don't like, because it is not fair play, is when you are playing and they put two balls on the pitch," said Mourinho. "They (Osasuna) did it three times and it is a strategy. Here in Spain using two balls is a common type of tactic." Madrid sporting director Jorge Valdano said Real would not give up in the title race, pointing out that Madrid came from behind to challenge Barcelona last season and only lost the league title on the final day of the season.

"It is a bad result but this club doesn't give up easily," said Valdano. "The league doesn't finish in the middle of the season. Something similar to this happened to us last season and we fought for the league title."