MADRID: Real Madrid`s World Cup winning right back Sergio Ramos said on Tuesday it was too soon to compare his side to their arch-rivals Barcelona with the Catalan team holding a two-point advantage after just one match.

Real were held to a goalless draw at Real Mallorca on Sunday in their first La Liga match with Jose Mourinho as coach while defending Spanish champions Barcelona beat Racing Santander 3-0.

"Of course we would have liked to have started the season collecting three points," Ramos told reporters as the Spain squad gathered in Madrid to begin preparing for their Euro 2012 qualifier on Friday against Liechtenstein.

"We must continue improving. It is too soon to compare us to anyone and to debate who is ahead and who is behind," the 24-year-old added.

The arrival of Mourinho, one of the world’s most successful and expensive coaches, at the Spanish giants in May has fueled the already intense interest in the annual La Liga horse race between Real and Barcelona.

The Portuguese coach admitted he was disappointed to begin his Real career with a 0-0 draw and blamed poor finishing as the reason for his team`s failure.

"It is important to defend well and score when you are not at your best and we are far from our best. We didn`t play well but we did enough to win," he said after the match.

"We had five or six chances but didn`t take any of them and I am disappointed about that. We were solid defensively and if we had scored we would have taken the three points."

BDST: 0435HRS, SEPTEMBER 01, 2010