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Real Madrid's defending and Barcelona's brilliance analysed on Revista

Image: Real: have struggled to deal with crosses this season

Real Madrid must improve their defending from set pieces to boost their Champions League chances, Guillem Balague told Revista.

Convinced

Barcelona, meanwhile, secured their spot in the quarter-finals of the Champions League last week after thrashing AC Milan 4-0 at home to overturn the 2-0 first-leg deficit they picked up at the San Siro. Revista pundit Graham Hunter reckons the Catalans, who will combat French outfit Paris-Saint Germain in the last eight, have rediscovered their mojo following La Liga and Copa del Rey defeats to Real Madrid and their European reverse in Milan. Meanwhile, Ferrer and Balague feel the way Barcelona approached their clash with the Italian giants, as well as Sunday's 3-1 win over Rayo Vallecano, could usher in a new era of football for the Camp Nou clan. "Barcelona were humiliated by Real and there was big pressure on them going into (the second leg against Milan), but I've never seen this group of players more convinced that they were going to win," said Hunter. "They had no doubts. "That was because of a team meeting they had after they lost to Real, in which the correct things were said, the inch-perfect training they had before the game against Milan, and knowing that if they played to their skill level and at the right tempo they would take their opponents apart." Ferrer said: "They played like Real Madrid against Milan in that every time someone in midfield got the ball, there were three or four players running forward like crazy. "They had never played like that before but they played like that against Rayo, too, so they are moving forward and have a plan B, something that was needed." Balague added: "This is a Barcelona swansong; Xavi is going to pick his games, I don't think Pedro will get back to the level he was at, while David Villa will leave. "That classic Barcelona of three years is disappearing - but maybe a new, more direct Barcelona will appear with Cesc Fabregas as the axis."

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