Pique: It was one of the worst Madrid sides I've faced at the Bernabeu
The defender was "upset" to lose as Barcelona spurned big first h alf chances
Gerard Pique bemoaned Barcelona's failure to win Sunday's Clasico against "one of the worse Real Madrid" sides he has seen at the Santiago Bernabeu.
"We are upset," Pique told reporters after second-half goals from Vinicius and Mariano scored the goals which sent Madrid back to the top of the table, one point clear of Barça.
"We thought we could get a good result here because Madrid came into the game in bad shape. It was one of the worst Madrid sides I've faced at the Bernabeu in the first half.
"I don't say that as a criticism of them. We all have problems -- we aren't doing that well, either. But we missed an opportunity. We had control of the game and if we take advantage of a couple of our chances it leaves them with a mountain to claim."
Pique lamented missed chances in the first half by Antoine Griezmann, Arthur Melo and Lionel Messi but feels the title race is still wide open.
He added: "We missed a chance to hurt them. We have to play better than in the second half. We lost balls and they grew in confidence and pinned us back. It feels like a missed opportunity, especially in the first half. We could have killed the game off.
"This result strengthens them, obviously. It's a morale boost. It knocks us but we're not sunk. We can still win La Liga if we do things well until the end of the season. We have to improve on our second-half display but there is still a long way to go."
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