Saturday 8 April 2017 23:47, UK
Barcelona coach Luis Enrique lamented an "unfair" 2-0 defeat at Malaga, where Brazil forward Neymar was sent off.
After La Liga leaders Real Madrid had earlier been held to a 1-1 draw by city rivals Atletico, Barcelona could have moved to the top of the table with victory at La Rosaleda.
However, Sandro netted on the break against his former club on 32 minutes and substitute Jony Rodriguez added a late second after Brazil forward Neymar saw red, having picked up a needless second caution.
The result meant it was Real who edged three points clear of Barcelona, and still hold a match in hand.
Luis Enrique, though, felt the result was harsh on his side. He said at a press conference: "The result was unfair. We tried everything, but it did not come through.
"We were in control and then an error of our own cost us, we generated lots of chances, but did not have any luck. We could have won with an effort from Luis Suarez in the first half, then had a penalty not given on Sergi Roberto.
"However, I am delighted by the attitude of the players, and even more so on a night like this. There is still a long way to go in the league."
Barcelona must now regroup for next week's Champions League showdown against Juventus, with Luis Enrique adding: "These are different competitions, and we will try to impose ourselves against these difficulties."
Neymar, meanwhile, could find himself facing an extended ban and possibly missing El Clasico on April 23 should the referee's committee look to take action for the Brazilian's sarcastic applause towards the officials after he was shown a second yellow card in the 65th minute after wiping out Diego Llorente.
"We need to be careful in these type of matches, there were some very ugly challenges which should have been a card and others committed by us which were marked with a yellow," Luis Enrique said.
"The rules are for interpretation, but it should be the same for all. However we are used to it."
