Andre Villas-Boas has claimed that a two-month winter break contributed to his Zenit St Petersburg side exiting the Champions League at the hands of Benfica earlier today.

Trailing 1-0 from the first leg in Portugal, hosting Zenit hit back on their own turf through Brazilian striker Hulk.

However, the visitors booked their place in the quarter-finals thanks to late goals from Nicolas Gaitan and Talisca.

Having not played a competitive fixture for around eight weeks until the start of the month, Villas-Boas insisted that his players were not fully prepared physically for a game of such magnitude.

"After a two-month break it's hard to regain your match sharpness. It's a problem for all Russian teams," he said.

"Unlike us, Benfica are in top condition and that helped them. A week later and we would be better prepared."

Villas-Boas will leave Zenit at the end of the season.