Real Madrid ran out of time in Copa del Rey exit against Celta Vigo, claims manager Zinedine Zidane
Real Madrid would have progressed to the Copa del Rey semi-final with more time, says manager Zinedine Zidane.
The Spanish giants were held 2-2 at Balaidos on Wednesday, sending them out of the cup competition with a 4-3 aggregate defeat against Celta Vigo over two legs.
Real came close to turning the tie, with Lucas Vazquez scoring a second equaliser in the 90th minute following Cristiano Ronaldo's earlier strike, and one more goal would have sent them through.
But Celta managed to hold out to progress and Zidane believes his side were finally reaching their maximum when the referee ended the game.
"We played a great game," he said, "We are disappointed but the boys played well and we ran out of time."
"Maybe if we played a few more minutes we could have won it. But it was not possible, we have to accept it and think about the league, which is next."
"I think with the game we played, all you have to do is relax and think that the cup is already far behind us and we have the league on Sunday."
"I'm responsible for this team and we are going to continue in the same way. We can and we will fight in the two competitions [La Liga and Champions League]."
Madrid will be looking to return to form when they take on Real Sociedad in La Liga on Sunday evening.
Zidane's side are top of La Liga with a game in-hand but are only one point ahead of Sevilla in second.