Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane defended his players after their home humiliation by Barcelona.

Barcelona won 3-0 at Real Madrid to open a 14-point gap on their rivals in La Liga's Primera Division.

After Real had enjoyed the better of the first period - Cristiano Ronaldo having a header ruled out for offside - second-half goals from Luis Suarez, Lionel Messi and Aleix Vidal gave Barca a memorable victory.

"We made a mistake and defended poorly and at this level that's significant," he told BeIN Sports after the match.

"We are not going to go crazy.

"It is a very difficult loss to take, but there's no need to change anything.

"We started very well and the first half was even, so this defeat hurts.

"It's tough for us, but this is what happens in football."

Zidane then went on to talk of how Los Blancos are refusing to throw in the towel, despite now trailing Barcelona by 14 points.

"We will never give up," he stressed.

"Now we must go on holiday and not think about this, we must enjoy family time and then come back.

"This is not over."

Asked about his lineup, he defended the decision to start Mateo Kovacic.

"I must pick and that's that," he said.

"Kovacic had to watch Lionel Messi and he did so well."