Barça have lost to Real Madrid, but have come out of the game with their heads held high. Click continue reading for  some of the player reactions after Saturday’s match.

Andrés Iniesta admitted that “the Liga title has practically slipped away. The difference in points is large and there are few [points] left. We knew that it would be difficult, especially knowing that they depend on themselves – but we gave it a try.”

Despite their efforts, Barcelona lost the game and the three points, “it hurts our soul to not be able to prolong the Liga a little more, but we have to accept it,” said Iniesta. “Our only option was to win and they played with that in mind. With a draw, when it looked as though we were fighting for the win, their fast goal slowed us down.”  Now the important thing for the team is to rest and get ready for the next challenge. Iniesta underlined this, saying, “we have to be prepared and eager for this Tuesday. We have to focus on the next competition. A lot is at stake and we can’t falter, it’s a completely different game against Chelsea. What we’re concerned about is getting to the final in Munich and the well being of the team.”

“We have a very important game on Tuesday. We did what we could, we were faithful to our style of play and I believe that we played better than they did,” said Sergio Busquets. The blaugrana’s ’16′ admitted that in the game against Madrid “we were missing the joy of scoring goals. It’s clear that we went out to win despite trailing most of the match and that hurt us. It’s a shame that they scored when they did because that’s when we had the most chances. We gave it our all.” Sergio praised the supporters, noting that the fans deserve a “10 out of 10 . . . they cheered us on until the end.” Busquets also underlined that the upcoming game against Chelsea is a big challenge, “we have to face the game like a final. We have to overturn the adverse result. I hope what happened [Saturday] and against Chelsea doesn’t happen again. It’s time to prepare for Tuesday’s match.” 

“We gave it our all and we’ll keep on trying until the end. It’s a pleasure to watch us play. We’ll stay united and I believe that we’ll have a good end to the season,” said Busquets. He added that “Real Madrid closed themselves off at the back the whole game. They didn’t play at all, the just looked for the counter, but sometimes football is like that. They did very little to win the game. It’s a bit unjust, I hope Tuesday isn’t like today.” 

Carles Puyol spoke on the Barça TV programme “El Marcador” following the defeat to Real Madrid and explained: “we are all a bit down, like all the Barça fans- it’s a big blow for us because we really thought we were in with a chance to take the league title. We’ll not let our heads drop though – we’ll keep fighting till the end and do our best for the fans, even though we know that it’s pretty much impossible now.”

Puyol insisted that “this has been a very good season and now we have two competitions left to win – the Cup and the Champions League.”  The Captain believes that the Barcelona players “now have to focus on Tuesday – it’s a competition we are keen to win and we are close to another final. [...] We have to be very aware of Chelsea’s counter attacks – I can see it being a similar game tactically to the Madrid match.” Asked about a possible Barcelona-Real Madrid meeting in the Champions League final, Puyol admitted, “that would be a very attractive final, we’d have to see what would happen then, but for now we are centered on Tuesday.”

Finally, the blaugrana captain underlined that “we have had some great seasons and we’ve all really enjoyed them. Sometimes you need to slip up in order to pick yourself up and I am sure that this team will be up there again. You have to judge all that we have achieved so far.”

 Source: fcbarcelona.cat, Picture credit: REUTERS/Juan Medina