Arda Turan claims Atletico Madrid need to improve defensively if they are to have any chance of ending their 18-year wait for the title.

Turan scored twice as Atletico beat near neighbours Rayo Vallecano 4-2 in Sunday night’s city derby, a victory that allowed Diego Simeone's side to stay level on points with Barcelona at the top of La Liga, with the leading duo remaining one point clear of third-placed Real Madrid.

But Turkish international Turan was less than happy with the fact they allowed second-bottom Rayo to score twice, with goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois also making a brilliant first-half penalty save.

The two goals scored by Rayo allowed Barcelona to snatch the honour of boasting La Liga’s best defensive record following their clean sheet victory over Malaga – Atletico have now conceded 14 goals in their 21 league outings, against Barca’s tally of 13.

And Turan stated that defensive work will be Atletico’s training ground priority as they prepare for Thursday night’s exciting Copa del Rey trip to free-scoring Athletic Bilbao, which sees Atletico enter the quarter final second leg holding a slender 1-0 advantage from last week’s home leg.

“We have to improve in defence,” he said. “We could have defended much better and now we are going to focus on that. If we all concentrate, we will do it.

“One after the other, we’re playing difficult games and we have to make a big effort to carry on getting through them. But we’ve sent out a signal to everyone, that we’re a very united team.”