Wednesday, 27th November, 2013
Barcelona midfielder Cesc Fabregas has admitted his side's level of performance against Ajax in the Champions League last night "was simply not high enough".
Goals from Thulani Serero (19th minute) and Joel Veltman (42nd minute) for Ajax could only be answered by a Xavi penalty (49th minute). And even with Veltman seeing red a minute earlier, Barcelona could not fight their way back into the game, losing 2-1.
Fabregas was quick to admit after the match that Barcelona had been far from their best, but the midfielder insisted it was not through a lack of effort.
"We did plenty of running, it was not a question of the wrong attitude or a lack of commitment; it just didn't work out", he said via UEFA.
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"During half-time there was no panic, we spoke a lot about our positioning and how we could improve it, but we still weren't able to turn the game round in the second half.
"We have no excuses: the level of performance was simply not high enough for Barcelona."
Barcelona still sit top of the group on ten points despite the defeat and face Celtic at home in their final group game.
Ajax are third on seven points, while AC Milan sit second on eight.
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