Andrés Iniesta: "This hurts our soul. We must focus on our upcoming match"

The players urge the fans to support the team this Tuesday against Chelsea.

Sergio Busquets believes that his team deserved to win against Real Madrid.



After losing to Real Madrid (1-2), the Barça players didn’t hide from the press as they admitted that the defeat in El Clásico was painful. The team, however, insist that there is no time to lament seeing that the Champions League match against Chelsea is just three days away. The players called on the Camp Nou faithful to help them conquer two more titles, the King’s Cup and the Champions League.

“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,” said Andrés Iniesta.

The Spanish midfielder said that the team must move forward if they want to defend their European crown: “it’s a completely different game against Chelsea. What we’re concerned about is getting to the final in Munich and the wellbeing of the team.”

Losing to Madrid

Iniesta also analyzed Barça’s defeat to Real Madrid: “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.”

The midfielder said that his team created enough chances to win but losing the three points is a “tough blow” for the team. “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.”

Here are the comments made by FC Barcelona players after the match:

Isaac Cuenca:

“We weren’t expecting this result after the game we played. We have to turn the page and focus on Chelsea. Thanks to all of our fans for supporting us in this match. I’m sure they’ll help us on Tuesday. Força Barça!”

Sergio Busquets:

“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.

“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.

“10 out of 10 for our fans, they cheered us on until the end."


On Chelsea: “We have to face the game like a final. We have to overturn the adverse result. I hope what happened today and against Chelsea doesn’t happen again. It’s time to prepare for next 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.

“Real Madrid closed themselves off a 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.” (via FCBarcelona.cat)