River Plate coach Diego Simeone faced the fire after their galling Copa Libertadores exit to a nine-man San Lorenzo on Thursday, saying all fault should lie with him.

Los Millionairos appeared to have things in hand with a late 3-2 aggregate lead and a two-man advantage, but a shocking Gonzalo Bergessio double flipped the tie.

The loss stung particularly badly coming on the heels of a league loss to arch rivals Boca Juniors, but the boss declared that the buck does indeed stop with him.

"The responsibility for the current situation is completely mine," Simeone stated. "I believed it to be correct for me to come out and speak to you today because I didn't do so after the Boca game."

"I repeat: I am the one fully responsible for the current situation facing the team."