Busquets: Barcelona´s motivation cannot be beaten
Sergio Busquets says no team will be able to match the motivation of Barcelona when they play their La Liga title decider at Granada next week.
Barcelona are one win away from defending their crown after romping to a 5-0 derby success over Espanyol at Camp Nou on Sunday, with Luis Suarez’s double along with strikes from Lionel Messi, Rafinha Alcantara and Neymar doing the job.
Barca’s day got even better as closest rivals Atletico Madrid suffered shock 2-1 loss at relegated Levante to crash out of the title race, meaning Real Madrid – who beat Valencia – are now the only team who can stop them winning a sixth title in eight years.
Victory over a Granada side who secured their top-flight status with a stunning 4-1 win at Sevilla or matching the result of Real Madrid when they play at Deportivo La Coruna will be enough for Barca and Busquets is already prepared for battle.
“The team did well and now we have to win next week,” the 27-year-old said to Movistar.
“It’s not easy to win this league and next week’s game against Granada is going to be difficult because they know they are not going down.
“They will be keen to end the season with a home win in front of their fans and celebrate that they are staying up, but no one will be more motivated than us.
“You never know whether it’s a good thing that Granada are now safe from the drop. We will be contesting the match as we always do. Nothing is going to change because we have to win - we cannot slip up.”
Barca have reacted emphatically to a run of form that saw them pick up only one point from four games as well as crashing out the Champions League to Atletico Madrid.
Since defeat to Valencia on April 17, the leaders have won four matches in a row, scoring 21 without conceding.
Busquets continued: “We realised that we were not doing things well, but football can also be about luck.
“We did enough to at least get a draw against Valencia but we didn’t do it - football is like that and that is all forgotten about now.
“At this stage of the season it’s difficult to be at 100 per cent. We have had a little more time but we would have preferred to still be in the Champions League.”