MADRID (AFP) - Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti admitted that Atletico Madrid were deserving victors after they handed him his first defeat in charge of Los Blancos with a 1-0 success at the Santiago Bernabeu on Saturday night.

Gareth Bale finally made his home debut for Real as a second-half substitute, but Diego Costa was the star of the show as he scored the only goal of the game after just 11 minutes to maintain Atletico's 100 per cent start to the season.

And despite Diego Simeone's men sitting back and defending their lead, Ancelotti accepted they still had the better chances to score a second on the counter-attack.

"Atletico Madrid deserved to win. They were very defensive but they scored a goal on the counter-attack," he told a press conference.

"They showed they are a very organised team with a lot of quality."

It was the fourth time in seven league games that Real had fallen behind early on in the game and Ancelotti is determined that they have to start games better and inject more speed into their play.

"I think we had the same problem as in the other games. Our build-up play is slow and when the ball arrives further up the pitch there are no spaces to look for a positive solution," he said. "We need to have better attitude and concentration."