Los Blancos suffered a surprise 1-0 home loss to Getafe on Monday (02.03.26) night but the coach still has faith that his team can chase down their rivals at the top of the table.

Arbeloa said: "There are 36 points left and we have no other goal but to fight to earn the 36 points. Nobody here is going to throw in the towel. This is Real Madrid and nothing is given up until the last match.

"Obviously, four points is a gap we believe we can close, and that's what we will fight and work for, starting with the next match in Vigo. This is Real Madrid and nobody here is going to give up."

The former Real defender added: "Then, the Champions League tie against a great rival like Manchester City. But nobody here is throwing away La Liga or anything else. There are 36 points left, and we are going for them, knowing that we have a lot to improve. I won’t criticise the effort of my players today. That’s something I won’t fault. That we can do things better is my responsibility."

Arbeloa expressed frustration that Real were unable to take their chances during the game.

He said: "I think we had clearer chances than Getafe. Obviously, it's a match where we could have done things better, but it’s also a match where we competed and had much clearer chances than they did. We tried to score from the first minute.

"We had Vinicius' chance in the first half, which was very clear; in the second half, the chances from (Antonio) Rudiger and Rodrygo. We had several chances, and I think we deserved to score a goal, but football is not about deserving. Getafe did a great job, as they always do. We knew the kind of match we would face. Nothing happened that we didn’t expect."