A post-mortem is already under way at Real Madrid following a season in which the club has fallen short of glory on the domestic front and in Europe.
Bitter rivals Barcelona, who will take on Juventus in the Champions League final on June 6, clinched their 23rd Primera Division title on Sunday after a 1-0 victory at defending champions Atletico Madrid.
"I would like to congratulate Barcelona and my colleague Luis Enrique," Real manager Carlo Ancelotti said to the Spanish press. "Our assessment is not a positive one.
"Real Madrid always plays to win and we fell short.
"We had a good first half of the season but the second half was more complicated."
Barca's victory in Madrid meant Real, who won 4-1 at Espanyol, cannot catch the league leaders in the standings with just one game remaining.
Real, who finished third behind winners Atletico Madrid and second-placed Barca in the 2013-14 campaign, were the early-season pace-setters in Spain's top flight and achieved a club record 22-match winning run before losing to Valencia in January.
A drop in form, with Welshman Gareth Bale coming under fire, turned out as the beginning of the end.
Real won just one and lost two, including a 2-1 defeat at Barcelona, of their four league matches in March to allow Barca to take a four-point lead at the top of the standings.
It also hurt Real to lose Croatian midfielder Luka Modric to injury twice this season.
Modric was sidelined for three months after hurting his thigh earlier this campaign and he then suffered a season-ending knee injury last month.
"The injuries have hindered us, especially that of Modric," Ancelotti said. "To be without Modric for so long didn't help."
Real saw their Champions League title defence come to an end after a 2-1 aggregate defeat to Juve last week.
Former Real Madrid player Alvaro Morata scored both goals for Juve in the tie.
Ancelotti, whose side were eliminated from the Copa del Rey by Atletico in January, has one year left on his contract.
"I would like to win the most important competition which is the Champions League," the 55-year-old said. "But I would also like to win La Liga.
"We came close this year and we will try again next season."
Though disappointed, Ancelotti felt his players bounced back from last week's home draws to Valencia and Juve in the best possible way.
Cristiano Ronaldo scored his seventh league hat-trick on Sunday to down Espanyol and increase his goal tally in the Primera Division to a whopping 45.
"It wasn't easy but I thank my players for the way they reacted against Espanyol," Ancelotti said. "They showed great professionalism and they held their heads high."
Ancelotti, who replaced Jose Mourinho at the helm of the Merengue outfit in the summer of 2013, led the Spanish giants to success in the Champions League and Copa del Rey in his debut season at the Bernabeu stadium.
Real end the campaign at home to Getafe on Saturday.
Source: PA
