Luka Modric admits that Real Madrid did not play “as a team” late on against Barcelona.
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With Modric playing a crucial role in the centre of midfield, Los Blancos gave a good account of themselves for the opening hour at the Nou Camp, dominating long passages of play and creating many of the first half’s better chances.
But that changed after Luis Suarez scored what proved to be the matchwinner, with Madrid struggling to make any attacking impact in the final stages and rarely look- ing capable of rescuing anything from the game.
Manolo: “When Modric was subbed off, Madrid dropped their intensity level.”
— SocialRMadrid (@SocialRMadrid) March 24, 2015
Modric said: “I think we played very well until Barca’s second goal. We could have scored two or three goals, especially in the first half, but we didn’t and after the second goal we did not play as a team. That was key in the game.
“After their second goal, I don’t know why, but we were not the same team as in the first half.”
Modric was making just his second start since November after recovering from a hip injury and he was replaced for the final stages by Lucas Silva after visibly tiring.
Despite the result allowing Barca to take a healthy four-point advantage at the top of La Liga, Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti insists the gap can be bridged.
However, only once have Los Blancos recovered from a deficit of four points of more with 10 games remaining to win the league – in the 2006/7 season.
“Barcelona have a four-point lead, but we’ll offer no let-up,” the Italian manager said. “The league isn’t over. Anything can happen in football.”
