"When you can't keep possession, you have to defend and suffer a bit"

Barcelona defender Marcos Alonso described Thursday's victory over Real Madrid in the first leg of the Copa del Rey semi-final as "important" and declared that they have "half the work done to get into the final".

Barca, with an own goal by Militao in the first half, got a narrow win over the 'Merengues' at the Santiago Bernabeu and will face the second leg at the Camp Nou with slender lead.

"It's an important victory. We're playing for a place in the final and we've done half the work," said the defender, speaking to 'TVE'.

In the same vein, he added: "We are working well, we are solid defensively and we took the win. There are ninety minutes left. We'll have to stay focused and with the help of our fans we'll be in the final.

What their coach, Xavi Hernandez, liked least was the loss of possession, which went to Real Madrid.

"When you can't keep possession you have to defend and suffer a bit. We were comfortable and we had the clearest chances to score the second", he concluded.