Real Madrid forward Kylian Mbappe said the team did not match the hunger shown by Benfica in Wednesday’s 4-2 Champions League defeat and they are not showing the consistency worthy of champions. A 98th-minute header from Benfica goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin denied 15-time European champions Real an automatic spot in the last 16, while the Portuguese side crept into the playoffs on goal difference. “It isn’t about quality, and it isn’t about tactics,” Mbappe, who scored twice on Wednesday, told reporters.
“You could see everything was on the line for Benfica, and you couldn’t see that for us, and that’s a problem.” Real have had a turbulent season marked by manager Xabi Alonso’s departure and the team being knocked out of the Spanish Cup last 16 by second-tier Albacete two weeks ago. They had won their last three games in all competitions under new manager Alvaro Arbeloa, but Wednesday’s result was a backwards step. “We aren’t being consistent in our play.
We have to solve that,” Mbappe said. “We can’t do it one day and then not another. A team of champions doesn’t do that.” Real, who are second in La Liga, next face Rayo Vallecano on Sunday. — Karan Prashant Saxena
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