Ter Stegen says Barcelona’s defeat to Almeria is ‘more than a warning’

Barcelona goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen offered a pretty scathing verdict on his team’s defeat to Almeria, saying his team hadn’t done their homework and the defeat should serve as “more than a warning” to the players.

Xavi’s side missed the chance to move 10 points clear at the top of table, and Ter Stegen says work must be done to avoid similar upsets between now and the end of the campaign.

“More than a warning, we should have done our homework and we haven’t,” he said. “We have to be self-critical to see where we have failed and see what we have to improve for the next games.”

“It’s a defeat that always hurts, that never comes at a good time, but we’re going to calm down. It’s important to recharge our batteries for Thursday.

“We’re looking ahead and we’re going to get what we want. The match against Real Madrid could be a good opportunity to make that change.”

Barcelona manager Xavi blasted his players after the defeat, calling it their “worst” performance of the season, as the Catalans suffered their first league defeat since October.