Kylian Mbappé laid into Real Madrid’s performance against Benfica on Wednesday, after Los Blancos missed out on direct qualification for the Champions League round 16.
Despite Mbappé’s two-goal display in Lisbon, Álvaro Arbeloa’s men lost 4-2 to Benfica, a team coached by former Madrid boss José Mourinho.
The defeat condemned the Spaniards to a ninth-placed finish in the league phase. Failure to make the top eight means the 15-time European champions must now negotiate a playoff round to reach the last 16.
Mbappé’s postgame comments:
Defeat: “This isn’t about ability and it’s not about tactics. It’s about wanting it more. You couldn’t see that we were playing for our lives out there.”
The doubts: “Our performances aren’t consistent enough, and that has to be fixed. We can’t have one good day and one bad day… a trophy-winning team doesn’t do that.”
Outside the top 8: “We deserve to be in this position. Benfica was the better team. It stings a bit to now have to deal with the playoff round. We were hoping to earn some rest.”
Recent goals conceded: “What we saw today is not normal. The fourth goal was embarrassing […]. We have to fix this, because we were coming off three games at a good level.”
A soccer problem or an attitude problem? “A bit of everything… it’s more general. Benfica wasn’t even in great form, and they still showed you that if you don’t show up with everything you need to win, they’ll run you off the field.”
The fans: “They should come out and support the team. We were bad today, yes, but we’re not eliminated, and in LaLiga our momentum is actually good right now.”
Get your game on! Whether you’re into NFL touchdowns, NBA buzzer-beaters, world-class soccer goals, or MLB home runs, our app has it all.