Pedri admits Barcelona "weren't ourselves" in Clasico defeat to Real Madrid

Mistakes prove costly at Camp Nou

Barcelona midfielder Pedri has admitted his team were below par in their 2-1 defeat to Real Madrid in El Clasico on Sunday night, saying his side made too many mistakes at Camp Nou.

Hansi Flick's side suffered their first La Liga defeat of the season, and Pedri was frank about where things went wrong.

"In the first half we weren't ourselves"

Speaking to DAZN, Pedri described a difficult performance from his side.

"Overall we didn't play a great game, in the first half we weren't ourselves, there were many things we could have done better, in the second half we equalized and in that transition that we knew they could do but that we didn't defend well they scored the second goal."

He added that the start of the match was a major problem: "In the first half we were very slow, we had many silly losses and those things are costly, we have to improve to continue."

Focus on the long season

Despite the setback, Pedri pointed to the bigger picture. "It's three points, we wanted to win the Clasico in front of our fans but this is a long season."

Title race tightens

The defeat means Barcelona stay top of the table but are now just two points clear of Atletico Madrid in second place. Real Madrid sit third, three points behind Flick's side after 10 games played.