Iniesta: It hurts to lose

Posted Sunday, April 03, 2016 by Foxsports.com

Iniesta: It hurts to lose
Barcelona captain Andres Iniesta admits losing to Real Madrid was a bitter pill to swallow, but insists the team needs to move on quickly.

Strikes from Karim Benzema and Cristiano Ronaldo handed Barcelona just their third defeat of the season, ending the Catalan's 39-game unbeaten run in all competitions.

Barca lock horns with fellow La Liga title contenders Atletico Madrid in the first leg of the Champions League quarter-finals at Camp Nou on Tuesday night and the 32-year-old says the team has already put the loss to Madrid behind them.

"We're hurting, but we're already thinking about the Champions League game," the Barca captain said.

"We have to analyse the things that we did not do well, but we have a new incentive, another competition to continue with.

"[The loss] does not affect us mentally for the game on Tuesday.

"It hurts for everyone to lose, it hurts not to get the three points that would have kept the distance," Iniesta added.

"This is a league that is competitive until the end and there are options, although we are still in a privileged position, which would have been even clearer if we won.

"I do not think that we have to blame the physical aspect, in the end it was a set of things.

"At 1-0 we lacked more control, positioning, they've caught us in various counter attacks and these actions are very dangerous. It was more a matter of placement."