Sneijder Reflects On Real Madrid's 'Painful' Loss To Barcelona

Real Madrid midfielder Wesley Sneijder knows how tough it will be for Los Blancos to bounce back from their 6-2 defeat at the hands of arch-rivals Barcelona on Saturday evening.

The former Ajax man missed the match through injury, and could only look on in horror as the Blaugrana ruthlessly overran his team-mates to administer an embarrasing defeat, one that effectively ended the race for the Primera Division title.

Website Fobazo.com reports that the Dutchman said of the match, "Despite [Real Madrid] getting off to a good start, Barcelona dominated the match. We got our hopes up after taking the lead, but they scored two goals quickly after and we did not have time to reorganise.

"We tried our best to get back into it, but it wasn't meant to be. It was a painful loss for us, but hats off to Barcelona. They are a great team and deserving winners."

The Real Madrid squad have been left with no option but to praise the manner in which Pep Guardiola's side controlled the match, and Sneijder then stated that the only way the team can regain their pride is by winning the four remaining league fixtures of the season.

He continued, "Tomorrow we will start preparing for our next match. There are four games left and we must win all of them.

"An important battle was lost this weekend, but we will continue working hard and finish the season as best we can."

Barcelona's crushing victory moved them seven points clear of second-placed Real Madrid, with just twelve points to play for as the La Liga season draws to a close.