Barcelona dominated proceedings right from the start and created a number of chances to go a goal ahead.
Advertisement
The defeat means Barcelona are now joint-tops with Atletico on 76 points, while Real Madrid are on 75.
Barcelona have now lost three consecutive La Liga matches, the last time that happened was in 2003 under Louis Van Gaal, strangely Luis Enrique was his captain.
“I remember when we were down 1-0 to Atletico [in the Champions League quarter-final first-leg, which Barca won 2-1] and the fans were able to help us in a very hard time”.
Atletico has three home games in the last five rounds, while Barcelona and Real Madrid play three away games.
Lionel Messi ended a five-game goal drought to bring up his 500th for club and country, but couldn’t inspire a Barca fightback as their alarming collapse in recent weeks continued after a 39-game unbeaten run.
“We see ourselves as capable to win five out of five and we will need to do that”, the Spain global said.
Sunday’s loss kept Granada with 30 points from 33 games, only one point clear of the relegation zone with five rounds to go.
VIDEO: The best trio of all time?
While Barcelona have been caught in a downward spiral, Atletico have scored 11 goals in successive victories over Real Betis, Espanyol and Granada, although they will be without influential captain Gabi due to suspension on Wednesday.
“We can improve, we can be more precise in the final third, we can improve and we have to, that is the objective”. Real Madrid are also only one point behind in what is now a wide-open title race.
Valencia’s 2-1 La Liga win at the Nou Camp on Sunday, however, highlighted a reversal of fortunes for the clubs.
“If we play like we did against Valencia we will win the league, I am certain of that”, said Pique, who will be suspended for the trip to Galicia after picking up his 10th yellow card of the season. Their chemistry before the rot set in was evident, with Luis Enrique joking in February that all he had to do was say “Abracadabra” to get them to work their magic. “If we can win, our confidence will increase”.
Advertisement
The Blaugrana drew Villareal 2-2 on March 20 in what could have been an omen of things to come, but Villareal is a strong side fighting for Champions League qualification.
