Xavi and Barça accept Bayern were better

Xavi Hernández said FC Barcelona were beaten by a "better team" after FC Bayern München all but secured their place in the UEFA Champions League final with a 4-0 first leg victory. The magnanimous midfielder congratulated the German champions and admitted Barça would now need a "miracle" in next week's second leg at Camp Nou, though Dani Alves insisted the Blaugrana would be "giving it everything" to turn the tie around.

Xavi Hernández, Barcelona midfielder
They were the better team and we have to accept that. Physically they were far better. We had more possession but we didn't attack well at all and we hardly created any chances.

They were very, very good on the counterattack. They made excellent use of the wings and they hurt us a lot. We were especially vulnerable at set-pieces. The first two goals came from corners, where their physical strength was greater than ours. At the end of the day, they were better and we should congratulate them.

We don't need to do anything in particular [in the second leg]. We still have 90 minutes and we'll do everything we can to make a miracle happen on the back of this terrible result.

Daniel Alves, Barcelona defender
It will be very difficult. We've got to come back from 4-0 down and that will be very tough, but we'll give it everything and leave with our heads held high and knowing we've done our best. For now we have to congratulate our opponents. They played with far greater intensity than we did.

We just couldn't score. We didn't fail – we just didn't create enough chances. As I said before, they deserved to win. When you come up against an opponent that's better than you, the only thing you can do is congratulate them.

Lionel Messi, Barcelona forward
We need to pick ourselves up, try and finish things off in the league and then try and turn this tie around. They were a lot stronger than us – physically superior in fact. It's a pity what happened but we have to go on. We have to lift ourselves for the second leg and the Liga. We will look to bounce back from this.

Marc Bartra, Barcelona defender
We're very disappointed after that defeat. It wasn't easy at all out there. We have to try to remain optimistic even though tonight's result makes things difficult. We'll go into the second leg mindful of what we managed to do against AC Milan [who Barca beat 4-0 in the semi-final second leg]. The fans will come to support us and, for them and for the club, we will be making a huge effort. We knew they were good physically but we have to be self-critical now and learn from our mistakes. It wasn't our night tonight, but let's hope the next one is ours.

Gerard Piqué, Barcelona defender
They were the better side and we should congratulate them. We need to try and win at Camp Nou. They were faster, stronger and better on the night. We need to pick ourselves up, face the return leg head-on and try to finish things off in the league as soon as possible.