"You lose a game and it's like someone died"

Posted Tuesday, March 11, 2014 by Marca.com

Alexis Sánchez insisted that Barcelona is "as motivated as ever" and that his teammates haven't become complacent after winning everything there is to win.

"I spend every day with them and the way I see it, they are as ambitious as ever. I think they want to win 'La Liga' and the Champions League again and I don't see any signs of lack of motivation or anything like that", the Chilean stated. He also threw his support behind under-fire coach Gerardo Martino, whom he branded "a great motivator, just like Guardiola was".

Alexis argued that people shouldn't blow the team's current struggles out of proportion, despite the unexpected defeat at the weekend, which dented Barça's chances of defending its league title. "It was a strange game against Valladolid and we lost. They beat us and deservedly so, but we can't sit here feeling sorry for ourselves or we won't be in the right frame of mind for Wednesday. We have to think positively and turn the page", noted the forward, turning his attentions to the Champions League second-leg clash against Manchester City.

A long way to go

Looking on the bright side, the 25-year-old stressed that being four points off the top doesn't mean 'La Liga' is a lost cause, just like the title wasn't in the bag when Barça had a big lead: "You lose a game and it's like someone died. Earlier in the season we were nine points above Real and people said we would be champions. There's a long way to go yet and we're not giving up: we're going to try to win all three trophies".