Anthony Gordon has admitted that Paris Saint-Germain were the better side after their 4-2 Champions League victory ended Barcelona’s 11-game winning streak.
Barcelona produced a competitive performance against the reigning European champions, but PSG’s quality and ability to maintain their intensity proved decisive in the encounter.
Goals from Xavi Espart and Lamine Yamal kept Hansi Flick’s side in contention, but late strikes from Vitinha and Fabian Ruiz secured the points for PSG, who maintained their 100 per cent record in this season’s competition.
Speaking after the match to TNT Sports, Gordon acknowledged that PSG deserved the victory, praising their physical conditioning and sustained pressure.
He said: “I think they deserved it in the end. I feel like they were the better team.
“They had better moments with more quality and I feel like athletically they were able to sustain the pressure, the intensity for longer than we were.
“They’ve been the team to beat for two years, tonight is a great example of why.”
Despite the defeat, Gordon believes Barcelona can take encouragement from their performance, although he stressed that the team must continue improving if they are to reach PSG’s level.
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He said: “I think we can take great positives because we played well, it was a competitive spectacle. But we’ve still got work to do and I think that’s a good position.”
Gordon also called on Barcelona to analyse the defeat and use the experience to close the gap on the European champions.
He added: “They’ve been the best for two years, they’re still the team to beat and we need to take from this that we need to do enough work, analyse this game and try and become that team. Try and become the team that needs to be beaten.”
Barcelona have little time to dwell on the European setback, with a high-profile El Clásico against Real Madrid awaiting them on Sunday.
Flick’s side will be looking to respond quickly in the domestic fixture as they seek to regain momentum after their winning run came to an end.
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