Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho has defended their recent Liga form.

Real's stutter has allowed Barcelona to cut their lead to six points.

But Mourinho argues: "The unnatural thing for me is the great run my team is having in La Liga. A team cannot win 40 straight games, but no other side in Europe has a six point lead in its league, not to mention a ten point cushion. I think it is normal to draw against Malaga at the Bernabeu; that's football for you.

"The match against Villarreal cannot be called a mistake… It wasn't. Our silence was criticized, but I believe it was an intelligent collective decision because we wouldn't have called it a mistake, but rather something else. We continued on our difficult path."