Jose Mourinho immediately began looking to calm Real Madrid nerves on Monday after a 5-0 thrashing by Barcelona, labeling his worst ever defeat "a loss, not a humiliation."

Barcelona dominated the match at the Nou Camp stadium for its biggest win since the 1993-94 season and the Portuguese coach's most lopsided loss in a career that includes two Champions League triumphs.

"It's the worst defeat of my career. I've never lost by five goals to zero but it's easy to digest because it was a defeat without chance of winning, so it's not hard to accept," Mourinho said. "We are only two points behind the leader so we have to continue working."

Mourinho, the self-proclaimed "Special One," is expected to end two seasons without silverware for Real after guiding Inter Milan to a historic treble of league, domestic cup and Champions League titles last season. Mourinho's first test of how his team responds is on Saturday against Valencia.

"I leave disappointed both in my team and my players, individually," Mourinho said. "You have to have character, when you lose by five goals you can't leave crying, you have to go and work harder. The season (has) not ended today.

"I have to worry about my team that until now had been playing well and today played very poorly," said Mourinho, whose team suffered its first loss of the season in all competitions. "One team played to the maximum of its potential and the other very badly. It's a well-deserved win and well-deserved loss."

Mourinho said Real was still finding its identity while Barcelona was "a finished product" after having won eight major trophies under counterpart Pep Guardiola.