Leo Messi: "Losing a game had to come at some point"

The Argentinian says that "we have to pick ourselves up because we have a Cup match," while Pedro notes that "Piqué's red card conditioned the match" After tonight's match Leo Messi, who scored Barça’s first goal
this evening, said, “we have to pick ourselves up because we have a Cup match” and “losing a game had to come at some point.”

The Argentine, who nearly put the game beyond the reach of Real in the first half, added that “it’s always more difficult when you’re down a man and our accuracy in front of goal wasn’t good,” when Barça had a 0-2 lead.

Pedro Rodríguez talked about the pivotal play that changed the match: “Piqué’s red card conditioned the match, because it was a play that wasn’t dangerous.” He added that, “I don’t want to take anything away from Real Sociedad’s victory, they played very well.” He concluded his post-match interview by saying that “on Thursday we cannot fail.”

Here are the statements made by FC Barcelona players after the match:

Xavi:
“Real are always a difficult rival, they pressured us high up the pitch and they got the result. A third goal [for Barça] would have changed the match, but defeat had to come sooner or later.”

“We’ll try to get to the next round. We’re going to Málaga with the confidence and knowledge that we are capable of doing it.”

Puyol:
“We had a lot of chances in the first half, especially with the 0-2. It wasn’t an easy game because Real can create a lot of danger from any play.”