Iniesta: Losing to Real hurt our soul

Posted Sunday, April 22, 2012 by ESPN

Barcelona midfielder Andres Iniesta was in a downcast mood following his club's 2-1 loss to Real Madrid and bemoaned what could be the end of their title chase.

"The Liga title has practically slipped away. The difference in points is large and there are few [points] left," Iniesta said in a frank assessment of his team's fortunes after the game.

"We knew that it would be difficult, especially knowing that they depend on themselves - but we gave it a try.

"It hurts our soul to not be able to prolong the Liga a little more, but we have to accept it.

"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."

Iniesta was unable to crack open the Real defence as the men in white closely marked Lionel Messi and Thiago Alcantara making it difficult for the Spanish international to find players in space.

His inability to create clear-cut goalscoring opportunities was punished by Cristiano Ronaldo who raced past the defenders and got on the end of a lovely through-ball by Mesut Ozil to score on what was just his second shot on target.

Not all the Barcelona players left the pitch in a foul mood, however. Sergio Busquets was much more positive as he stated that he was happy with his side's performance and even called it a "pleasure" to watch his team-mates in action.

He also called on the fans to carry on cheering the side and help them overcome Chelsea on Tuesday in the second leg of their Champions League semi-final.

"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," the midfielder said.

"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 [Real] did.

"Real Madrid closed themselves off at the back the whole game. They didn't play at all, they 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."

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

Iniesta also turned his focus to the upcoming game and after two successive defeats, he warned his side that nothing but a win will do against the Londoners.

"We have to be prepared and eager for this Tuesday. We have to focus on the next competition," he said.

"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."
"A lot is at stake and we can't falter."