Atletico Madrid midfielder Saul Niguez has revealed that Filipe Luis and Diego Godin both apologised "for letting the team down" during Saturday's 2-1 defeat at Barcelona.

Atletico took a 10th-minute lead in the La Liga clash through Koke, but Barcelona turned it around through Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez to claim the points.

Luis and Godin both saw red at Camp Nou, and Saul has claimed that his team 'could have won' with 11 men on the pitch.

"The worst thing was that we lost since the most important thing was the three points. We go out to win every time at every stadium. The first red card was a setback, but we responded well to the second one," Saul told reporters.

"We're all hurt, but we did terrific job in light of the red cards as we couldn't fight for the win. With 11, we can compete with any team.

"Both lads apologised both for letting the team down. The game was difficult with one man less and more with two. All we could do was hope for a draw on the counter-attack. We're already thinking about the next game and changing this dynamic. We'll continue fighting for the title."

Atletico are now three points behind reigning champions Barcelona in the La Liga table.