Diego Forlan: Barcelona have no time to mourn European exit with Real Madrid up next

Diego Forlan writes a weekly column for The National, appearing each Friday. The former Manchester United, Inter Milan and Atletico Madrid striker has been the top scorer in Europe twice and won the Golden Boot at the 2010 World Cup. Forlan's column will be written with the assistance of European football correspondent Andy Mitten . Barcelona are suffering after a very tough week, but there is no time for ponder. It is going to get even harder with Sunday’s clasico in the Bernabeu, a game they simply can’t afford to lose or their season will be over. Madrid would go six points clear with six games to play, one more than their rivals. Barca would not come back from that. They could draw to keep in contact with the leaders, but to win — as they have done frequently in Madrid — would show why they are reigning champions, why they are the ones who win the league all the time while Madrid have not won it since 2012, their only time since 2008. A win would not only put Barca top of the league, it would give them a massive psychological lift when they most need it. It would be more than three points too, for they would go ahead of Madrid on the head-to-head system used in Spain. That is like having an extra point, but even if they used the goal difference system they would go ahead. __________________________________ Read more ■ Andy Mitten: Juventus look capable of returning to European glory ■ Gallery: The best pictures from Barcelona v Juventus at the Camp Nou ■ Predictions: For this weekend's FA Cup and Premier League action __________________________________ For all the criticism, Barca have scored 91 league goals this season. They have scored more and conceded less than their main rivals. This has not been a bad season at all for them, yet it feels like it because the bar of expectation has been set so ridiculously high that they are expected to win either the Primera Liga or the Uefa Champions League each season. And if they don’t, that is considered a failure. Not for the first time, many are talking about the end of Barca, the world’s best team for a decade. I've heard it all before and I'm not convinced. I wrote three weeks ago about how great they were so I'm hardly going to write now how bad they are. Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar haven’t gone from the best to average because of a few bad results, but they’ve been battered psychologically by them. Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez after Barcelona’s exit from the Uefa Champions League quarter-final. Sergio Perez / Reuters Being eliminated by Juventus at home was a big blow and while their players put on brave faces and thanked their fans, they will be hurting. I’ve been there, every footballer has, and it is tough. Everyone is criticising Barca, but they can use the adversity as a strength, to show the world against them that they’re still brilliant. And what a better way to do that than in the clasico away from home, the toughest game there could possibly be? It gives Barca a chance to snap out of the mental state that saw them fail to score against Juventus. That is not what you expect from them, but as I said in a previous column , one incredible comeback can happen, two successive ones is unlikely. Paulo Dybala was one of the best players over the two legs. Emilio Morenatti / AP Photo It was not like watching Barcelona — and the game in Turin where they lost 3-0 was the same. Luck can be blamed, but the sharpness was absent, sharpness in front of goal, in passing. Juventus played well. They got revenge for the 2015 final and they are hugely experienced. They sat back to defend, but they also hit Barca on the break and kept their defenders busy. Paulo Dybala was one of their best players, keeping Gerard Pique concentrating. Juan Cuadrado impressed too, but it is with reason that the defenders were so heavily praised. Real Madrid are going into the clasico in a very different position. They will still be full of adrenalin after they beat Bayern Munich to go through in one of the best games so far this season. Madrid are not even playing at their best, but they’re winning and Cristiano Ronaldo, who has not been immune from criticism, is scoring. He’s unbelievable isn’t he? Cristiano Ronaldo will enter the clasico after scoring a hat-trick against Bayern Munich. Francisco Seco / AP Photo Yet victory can work against you, it can put you in a comfort zone where you believe what people are saying about you. They could be stung very quickly against Barcelona, especially if a few refereeing decisions go against them — just as they went for them against an excellent Bayern Munich. Madrid scored four against Bayern, but it’s far easier playing against 10 men in extra time. It was not a 4-2 game, but I do not buy the conspiracy theory that they favour Barca and Madrid. I’ve played hundreds of football matches and one constant has been that people always complain about referees, but also that sometimes you get lucky and sometimes you do not. I once scored at the Bernabeu and Atletico Madrid were about to win when Klaas-Jan Huntelaar grabbed a late equaliser from an offside position. Did I sense a conspiracy? No. Bayern Munich players were unhappy with a series of refereeing decisions against Real Madrid, but there is no conspiracy. Daniel Ochoa de Olza / AP Photo Referees officiate differently too. In the north of Europe, they let the game flow. In Spain, they blow more often, but referees are human, they make mistakes and that is always been the case. Why change it? Football is not pro technology; it is not like rugby or NFL. The spirit of the game is different. Some players dive, they take advantage of a push or a touch and the referee buys it. I’m not a diver, but teams have always sought every advantage, adding passion, conjecture and fury. Change that and you change the whole meaning of football that we have had for years and years. I do not like the idea of stopping the game every time a decision is disputed. If video technology is introduced, how far do you take it? A clasico would be stopped every two minutes, with counter accusations and conspiracies. I would rather see the magic of the world’s best players shine and that is why I’ll be watching the game on Sunday from home, fascinated to see what happens and if Barca can bounce back. Follow us on Twitter @NatSportUAE Like us on Facebook at facebook.com/TheNationalSport

Diego Forlan: Barcelona have no time to mourn European exit with Real Madrid up next

In his column this week, Diego Forlan focuses on Barcelona after their Uefa Champions League exit to Juventus.