Barcelona manager Hansi Flick has blamed fatigue for his side’s 2-1 defeat to Real Madrid in Sunday’s El Clasico.

The defeat marked Barcelona’s first loss of the LaLiga season.

Real Madrid took the lead at the Nou Camp after Kylian Mbappe scored from a deflected effort.

Barcelona responded through Raphinha, who restored parity, but Mbappe struck again with three minutes remaining to secure all three points for the visitors.

Flick has now said his team was tired, after playing four matches in 12 days.

He said: “We were not playing at the highest level because of the lack of freshness.

“It’s not top for us but we have to accept it and defeats is part of the game. It’s the first defeat in 10 games.

“We have a whole week before the next game to prepare and disconnect.”

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