Real Madrid coach Julen Lopetegui blamed missed chances for his side’s current plight after their shock 1-0 Champions League defeat to CSKA Moscow in the Russian capital.
Nikola Vlasic seized on an error by Toni Kroos in the second minute to grab what turned out to be the only goal of the game as the increasingly desperate Spaniards clattered the woodwork three times in response.
It continued a worrying run for Lopetegui, whose side were beaten 3-0 by Sevilla in La Liga last Wednesday before also failing to find the net in Saturday’s derby draw with Atletico.
Lopetegui told a press conference: “We must keep generating chances and we will be more successful – I have no doubt that we will start to score and the victories will come.
“We have failed to take any of the countless chances we have had. We have tried from everywhere and from that point of view we have had bad luck.”
The plight of Real’s much-changed team, with Gareth Bale injured and Sergio Ramos left in Spain to rest, is a long way from the optimism which greeted their opening 3-0 group win over Roma.
But Lopetegui added: “Ten days ago we beat Roma and we weren’t invincible. Now we are not so bad. There are just some situations in football that we have to reverse.”
CSKA coach Viktor Goncharenko admitted some of his players found it hard to believe they were on the verge of securing a historic result against the three-time defending champions.
“My first objective at half-time was to calm the team down,” Goncharenko told a press conference. “There were players who could not believe we were 1-0 up, but the start of the second half was even better than the first.”
Goncharenko went on to single out the performance of Vlasic, the 20-year-old who is on loan from Everton and has already starred in the Champions League this season with a goal in the opening game against Viktoria Plzen.
He added: “He joined us very quickly and learned that he has to be a leader in this young squad. He is very ambitious and now he can say that his goal defeated Real Madrid.”
