April 30 -- Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho for once accepted the blame after his side were beaten 3-2 at home to Zaragoza in the BBVA Primera Liga on Saturday night.
The defeat leaves Madrid with virtually no option of winning the league, but gives a huge boost to Zaragoza's chances of avoiding relegation. Zaragoza had kicked off fourth from bottom of the table and played on the break.
Angel Lafita scored twice and provoked a penalty for Zaragoza on a day when Madrid only began to play well in the last 30 minutes.
"Our rivals fought hard. It was a decisive game for them to stay in the Primera and that is what happens when a team goes into a game well and the other side doesn't," said Mourinho.
"Today the coach (Mourinho) was not able to motivate his players in the first half. The second half was good, but we gifted them three goals. They played with time on their side and had some luck," added the Madrid coach.
Mourinho rested Cristiano Ronaldo and other players who had taken part on his side's 2-0 Champions League defeat to Barcelona on Wednesday, but insisted that was not a factor in the defeat.
"This team won in Valencia and in Bilbao, which are two difficult grounds. I have a clean conscience about that and I didn't want to gift anything to Zaragoza or any of the other sides fighting to avoid relegation," he said, annoyed at the defeat.
"This was a good day to gain confidence and for the players to show they can be first choice. It was my decision to leave Ronaldo out, I have (Gonzalo) Higuain and (Karim) Benzema and I saw them looking very motivated," commented Mourinho.