Gerard Pique felt Barcelona could have taken a draw from El Clasico but accepted Real Madrid were worthy winners and said ‘you can’t always win.’
Barca’s 39-game unbeaten run came to an end at Camp Nou as Madrid took a late victory despite going down to 10 men when Sergio Ramos was dismissed late on with the score 1-1.
“We didn’t know how to play with one more. Before Ramos was sent off we had five minutes where we weren’t in control, maybe we didn’t know whether to defend or attack,” Pique, Barca’s scorer, said, AS reports.
“It was 1-2, we had a few chances and we could have equalised. But they scored and won fairly.
“Did they deserve to win? They deserved at least a draw and the second goal. We couldn’t play with the extra man and we have to move on.
“Tuesday [against Atletico Madrid in the Champions League] is very important and we’re still good in the League, so we’re calm. We wanted to win and more so because it’s a Clasico. You can’t always win.
“Our home form had been spotless. It’s our first defeat and we accept it. Sometimes you lose and you have to take the defeats.
“We wanted to win, of course, but it wasn’t to be. We left everything on the field and if you give everything, nothing can be thrown in your face. It’s a tough loss but we’re still in a privileged position.”
Pique was asked about referee Alejandro Hernandez Hernandez and commended the official, before weighing up his ultimately meaningless goal.
“The referee tries as best he can and I think he did a decent job, a good job,” the defender continued.
“My goal? Bad luck. I always want to contribute the maximum in attack and defence. I was lucky to score, but it did little good.
“There are two months left and we won’t fall, we won’t fall into a slump because we’re in a unique position and we have to go forward.”
