Pedri laid the blame for Barcelona’s El Clásico defeat against Real Madrid on team errors, while his teammate João Cancelo felt that attacking efficiency made the crucial difference for their arch-rivals.
Both players spoke to DAZN following the clash at Spotify Camp Nou, a result that brought the battle for the La Liga summit back into sharp focus and prompted the Catalan squad to review their performance.
“We didn’t play a great match, and in the first half, we were not ourselves. There were many things we could have done better,” Pedri stated.
He added: “We were far too slow in the first half and gave away many sloppy balls—you pay heavily for those things. We must improve.”
The midfielder continued: “In the second half, we improved slightly, but they hurt us with their strength, which is attacking transitions, and we failed to defend well,” referring to the counter-attack that yielded Real Madrid’s winning goal.
Barcelona had clawed their way back into the match through Raphinha’s equalizer—assisted by Pedri—after trailing at the break, before conceding a second goal in the closing minutes to fall 2-1.
For his part, Cancelo said: “We were the better side, but that is Real Madrid; they create few chances and score from them. We must respond against Alavés.”
The Portuguese fullback explained that Barcelona needed more control over the match through ball circulation and chance creation, rather than repeatedly rushing to press high up the pitch, emphasizing the squad’s readiness to fix their mistakes.
Hansi Flick’s side suffered their first league defeat of the season but retained top spot with 27 points, ahead of Atlético Madrid on 25 and Real Madrid on 24, making a strong response in the upcoming fixtures essential to preserving their lead.
