‘Defeats teach you things’: Barcelona’s Luis Enrique remains upbeat despite defeat to Real Madrid

Barcelona coach Luis Enrique during Barcelona's defeat to Real Madrid on Saturday. Lluis Gene / AFP

Barcelona coach Luis Enrique said his team would not allow Saturday’s 2-1 home defeat by bitter rivals Real Madrid to affect their confidence.

Primera Liga leaders Barca were the better side for most of el clasico but a late goal by Cristiano Ronaldo helped third-placed Madrid close the gap to seven points with seven games to go.

Atletico Madrid are in second spot, six points off the pace.

Enrique does not believe the defeat will damage Barca’s title challenge or their bid to retain the Uefa Champions League and Copa del Rey.

“This game doesn’t exist any more, there’s no pain,” he said.

“The team were really up for the game, so were the fans, and there’s nothing else we can do but lift ourselves up. Defeats teach you things, they teach you that every trophy is difficult and the players know that.”

More from el clasico:

Reaction: Gareth Bale backs Real Madrid to 'get right back in' title race after victory at Barcelona

Gallery: Cristiano Ronaldo strikes late to earn Real Madrid thrilling win at Barcelona — in pictures

Analysis: Barcelona are beatable, Ronaldo still a big game player: Five lessons from el clasico

Enrique said his side struggled to cope with the shock of losing their lead so soon after Gerard Pique had put them in front in the 56th minute, Karim Benzema levelling for Real six minutes later.

“The equaliser caused us a lot of damage and unfortunately we lost our first game at home (since February 2015),” he said.

“You can’t choose when you’re going to lose. We have to recover, rest and remember that we are the league leaders and that the most consistent team win the title.”

Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane was cautious when asked if the win could spark a late title bid.

“We have to overtake Atletico first,” he said. “We have to think about our next game in the Champions League [quarter-final against Wolfsburg on Wednesday] and then think about getting three points in our next league game.”

Zidane did not hide his joy at winning his first el clasico as a coach.

“I’m very happy with everything about the game especially the result,” he said.

“We struggled at first but that’s normal because it’s a difficult ground to play at. I’m very proud of my players and how they played.

“Winning here is a huge prize for all our players because they put in an enormous performance,” said the former France great. “It’s not easy to win here, few teams win here.”

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