Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti said that Luis Suarez's goal completely changed the game, after the Barcelona forward scored the winner in his team's 2-1 La Liga Clasico win on Sunday evening.
A topsy-turvy game at the Camp Nou saw Barca first go ahead when Jeremy Mathieu headed in Lionel Messi's free-kick, then Cristiano Ronaldo soon equalise after being sent clear by Karim Benzema's superb back-heel.
Madrid also hit the crossbar through Ronaldo and had a Gareth Bale goal narrowly ruled out for offside as they impressed during the first half. But the visitors faded out of the game completely after Suarez's coolly taken solo effort on 56 minutes and Barca could have won by more in the end.
The Blancos coach told his postmatch news conference that the game had hinged on the former Liverpool player's strike.
"Two very high quality teams have met," Ancelotti said. "We played very well for an hour. Until the second goal. Then the game got very difficult. In the first half we played very well. We were very solid at the back, but we were not able to finish moves. We played a very good sixty minutes, and then 30 minutes not so much. In the last half hour, Barca's counter-attacks were scary. These are two great teams, they have won. Congratulations to them."
Although his team are now four points behind with ten La Liga games to play, they could still take something positive from how well the team had played, Ancelotti said.
"We played a good game, now we must keep going with this idea," he said. "The team has improved a lot, although it is difficult in La Liga. Barca have an advantage, but we cannot drop our hands. Above all for how well we played in the first half, which is the path we must follow. We are down, but it is better to have a good feeling, to take something positive with us and have more confidence for the remainder of the season."
Madrid would not be giving up on the La Liga title race now to focus on their upcoming Champions League quarterfinal ties with Atletico Madrid, Ancelotti maintained.
"The league is not over yet," he said. "Barca have an advantage, but anything can happen in football. We are not going to prioritise the Champions League."
The Italian coach denied Ronaldo's goal, being his latest poacher's effort from inside the area, was a sign the 30-year-old forward had evolved his game to become just a finisher.
"I do not believe he has changed," Ancelotti said. "Cristiano played a very complete game. He worked a lot, he shot with danger, he scored a goal, hit the crossbar."
Madrid's players looked exhausted in the last half hour, and Messi and Neymar could have added a few more goals on the break, something which Ancelotti admitted was at least partly due to tiredness on the part of the recently-back-from-injury Luka Modric and the rarely-rested Toni Kroos.
"I believe it was not a physical problem, more in the head," he said. "We did not have the same idea of play, as at the start of the game. The last 30 minutes were not like the first half. The two midfielders had worked very hard, maybe it was that. Their work was very important. They played very well, and you must consider they were tired at the end."