Saul Niguez has asserted that Atletico Madrid could have beaten Barcelona with 11 men after they went down to nine in Saturday’s 2-1 defeat at Camp Nou.
Los Colchoneros fell three points behind the Catalans, who also have a game in hand, at the summit of La Liga after red cards to Filipe Luis and Diego Godin compounded a home comeback, but the midfielder was adamant the game would have panned out different had his side avoided the referee’s wrath.
“The worst thing was that we lost since the most important thing was the three points,” he said after the game.
“We go out to win every time at every stadium. The first red card was a setback, but we responded well to the second one.
“We’re all hurt, but we did terrific job in light of the red cards as we couldn’t fight for the win. With 11, we can compete with any team.
“Both lads apologised both for letting the team down. The game was difficult with one man less and more with two. All we could do was hope for a draw on the counterattack.
“We’re already thinking about the next game and changing this dynamic. We’ll continue fighting for the title.”
