Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi admitted he was not 100 percent fit, but insisted he wasn't playing with an injury against Bayern Munich in the Champions League semifinal.
Messi was a shadow of himself throughout the 90 minutes at the Allianz Arena, barely able to make one telling move, while having to witness Bayern thump four goals past Victor Valdes at the other end.
The Argentine said the rust of not having played for a couple of weeks had made a difference. "It was some days since I played and I didn't feel 100 percent comfortable but I was not injured, so I could play," the 25-year-old told reporters.
Messi admitted Barcelona were now up against it but refused to admit the tie was over.
"What's happened is a disgrace, but we have to keep going," he added.
"It's difficult to fight back, but we'll try to score the goals we need at the Camp Nou. We have to pick ourselves up, finish off La Liga and try to comeback against Bayern."
Barcelona midfielder Xavi Hernandez said this was the Spanish side's "worst result ever," while admitting Bayern were the better side.
"It's the worst result ever," Xavi said. "They were better -- and I don't mind saying that.
"The result is a bit excessive, but they were the better side. We have to congratulate them because they were superior, they took advantage of their assets.
"It's almost impossible. But we must try to, for this club and for everyone."
Double goalscorer Thomas Muller was ecstatic with his performance and the "dream result" after the first leg, while saying Bayern were not going to be daunted by having to play at the Camp Nou in the second leg.
"I made my contribution. It went very well," the German international said. "You're fired up for a Champions League semifinal. It feels good when it ends like this.
"I knew I'd only be able to do a good job if I covered a lot of ground. 4-0 is a dream result. We've all witnessed the magic of Camp Nou often enough. But we want to show the world it won't work on us."
