Ivan Rakitic: Not even Roma know how they knocked us out

Barcelona midfielder Ivan Rakitic spoke on Bein Sports about the team's debacle in Rome that saw them knocked out of the Champions League.

"First I wanted to hit myself. I think that having won the first game 4-1, despite not playing a great game, you go Roma and while you aren't thinking you're in the semis, you have a great chance of being there, and then to be out is a huge blow," said Rakitic.

"But I'll start with me and my team-mates. There was nobody who wanted to be in the semis more than us. I think that all this doesn't depend on a game, the turth is that I think that an explanation doesn't exist to say 'look, this has happened'. No, there isn't one. I don't even think Roma know how they beat us like that.

"But sometimes this happens in football and after you can't explain how so few days later we had the best performance of the season in the Copa del Rey. That's football, they are little details and you always have to go 100 per cent. If you leave a little bit behind, what happened happens. The important thing is that we are united and we gave the reaction we gave and that's worth a lot.

"First you have to congratulate Roma, they beat us in strength. They fought for every ball. They wanted to get in the semi-finals the same as us. The first goal, a long ball, not a special play, with a little mistake it's 1-0. Tiny details that in football can win or lose you a game. We have to congratulate Roma and learn from that so it doesn't happen again."