Dani Alves has suggested Barcelona deserve more credit for their form, insisting that beating Espanyol is not an easy proposition.
A Lionel Messi penalty gave La Blaugrana victory in the Catalan derby on Saturday and maintained Barca’s title challenge.
Speaking to reporters after the match, the Brazilian said onlookers don’t realise how hard La Liga can be.
“Espanyol pressed a lot and had great intensity. That made things very difficult for us,” Alves said.
“It always happens that way. It’s not a knock on us. People think Barca are just going for a walk in the park but every game costs so much. It happens in every game.
“We didn’t lose our strength for even a moment,” Alves continued.
“Both teams were in it. It is a continuous struggle but our desire never left us. We had the better chances.
“I don’t want to talk about the referee. We talk about when we play well and when we don’t.
“We had chances in the first-half that we didn’t take but we were fine by the end.
“We have given everything and we’ll leave talk about the referee to other people.
“The team wanted to reach this point of the season with options in all competitions. We’re doing well and I’m confident we will fight for everything.”