Celta Vigo coach Rafa Benitez defended his players after their Copa del Rey quarterfinal defeat to Real Sociedad.

La Real won 2-1 with Sheraldo Becker scoring the winner on debut.

Benitez said: "Any analysis we make assumes that we make 2-3 errors in the same play and we go 0-1 as soon as we start, with a team that we already know is good. Everything got a bit uphill.

"I am left with the team's reaction, they show their faces and always compete."

"In the first half we were not good. It was a complicated game with disputes against a very strong, very intense team. In the second half we reacted better and pressed. Then, they caught us on the counter and made the 0-2.

"I was looking for freshness. We had played a good Cup game and we were looking for that and intensity to match theirs. We went back to 0-1 as soon as we started, which was the origin of everything.

"The crowd has been sensational, before the game, during and after. The thing is that we ourselves have made it difficult and it is very difficult."