Alvaro Arbeloa was unable to explain what happened in his first match against Jose Mourinho.
Real Madrid lost 4-2 to Benfica with the last goal coming from Eagles goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin in extra time, qualifying Benfica for the play-offs and taking Madrid with them.
Asked how he was feeling once the chaos had settled down, Arbeloa replied: “We’re not happy. We knew what we were getting into and how difficult it would be. It’s overwhelmed us.
“We were lacking in many ways. Many ways. It was a Champions League match against a team fighting for their lives in front of their home crowd.
“They played with intensity, they attacked very well. There isn’t just one reason; we lacked many things to beat Benfica today.”
“I take responsibility for this defeat, just like in Albacete. I feel completely responsible when things don’t go well.
“But we haven’t been eliminated from the Champions League; we have two games left. And we’re going to face those two games.
“I said it yesterday, the demands of the match were going to be extremely high. I knew the level of the opponent and their coach. I told the players as much.
“I wasn’t able to get the players to perform at the level I wanted. If the team doesn’t perform at that level, the responsibility is always mine. I wasn’t able to get them to approach the match the way I wanted.”
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