'We were very slow!' – Honest Pedri admits Barcelona mistakes in painful El Clasico loss
Barcelona midfielder Pedri delivered a self-critical assessment of his side's performance following their 2-1 El Clasico defeat to Real Madrid. The Spanish international highlighted first-half errors and slow ball circulation as key factors behind the result.
Blaugrana fall short despite second-half revival
Pedri and Barcelona suffered their first domestic defeat of the season as Real Madrid secured a 2-1 victory at Spotify Camp Nou. After falling behind to a fortunate first-half goal, Barcelona rallied after the break with Pedri setting up Raphinha's equaliser.
However, a late counter-attack finished by Kylian Mbappe caught Barcelona off guard, ending their nine-game winning run.
Barcelona remain top of La Liga, holding a three-point cushion over Real Madrid.
Pedri admits first-half display was far below standards
Speaking to Pedri offered no excuses for Barcelona's sluggish start to the match post-match, Pedri offered no excuses for Barcelona's sluggish start to the match. "I think overall we didn't play a great match," Pedri confessed.
"In the first half, we weren't ourselves; I think there were many things we could have done better."
"Above all, the pace of the ball. In the first half we were very slow, we had a lot of silly turnovers, and against this team you pay for them," the midfielder explained.
Midfielder regrets failure to defend late counter-attack
Pedri noted that while Barcelona improved after the interval, failing to defend Madrid's decisive transition proved costly. "In the second half we equalised and were playing better, but they scored on a counter-attack that we didn't defend well," he noted.
"They have quality up front."
"We wanted to win the Clásico in front of our fans... We leave feeling sad, but we have to think about the next one," Pedri added.
Long title race keeps Barcelona focused on recovery
Despite the heartbreak, Pedri reminded supporters that the La Liga title race remains a marathon.
"This is a long season, and a league title isn't won here," Pedri concluded.
Barcelona turn their focus to Saturday's La Liga fixture against Alaves at Spotify Camp Nou.
