By Henry Jackson
Barcelona trio Carles Puyol, Cesc Fabregas and Dani Alves have all spoken of their disappointment at their performance during Wednesday night’s loss to AC Milan.
The 2-0 defeat gives the Catalan side an uphill task to qualify for the last eight of the Champions League, knowing that an away goal from Milan would require four from themselves.
Puyol seemed particularly bullish about his side’s hopes, citing that the home crowd will give them a boost in the second leg.
“It’s time to mount a comeback in front of our fans,” he told the club’s official website.
“They were more aggressive, we have to improve in the return leg. We have to have confidence in this team, we can’t give up. We’re going to play at home in front of our fans, we aren’t going to give up.”
Fabregas spoke more about the physical aspects of the game, and admitted that Milan were far superior in that department.
He said: “We weren’t on our game physically, they were strong and it hurt us. We’re Barça and we have to play at the highest level, we simply didn’t play a good match.”
Alves was equally frustrated with the outcome of the game, but was quick to compliment Milan’s efforts.
“It’s not that we played terribly after the first goal. We didn’t play well in general and that’s largely due to how well our rival played. We have to improve,” he added.
“This is a difficult result. We have to fight back, go for the return game and work hard.”