Barcelona midfielder Javier Mascherano has admitted that his team were made to suffer by Real Madrid in Sunday's El Clasico.

Barca emerged 2-1 winners in the La Liga clash, but Mascherano was full of praise for the playing style of the visitors.

"Madrid are the best in the world at getting on top of you. We started well, controlled the game and scored, but that was when they started to press forward," Mascherano told Canal+.

"We gave them too much room and lost the ball too often. We were more organised after the break, scored, and started to play our own game.

"But there's still a long way to go and we have the Champions League to play for. We'd be wrong to take our foot off the gas. We've given ourselves a good chance and just have to keep going."

Barcelona are still in the hunt for a treble this season.

Written by
Matt Law