Barcelona midfielder Javier Mascherano has admitted that it will be difficult for his side to retain their La Liga title.

The Blaugrana fell to a shock 1-0 defeat against Granada on Saturday and are now trailing leaders Atletico Madrid by four points in the table, with just five games left to play.

"The league is no longer in our hands," Mascherano told club's official website. "I don't think the defeat in the Champions League affected us, we created a lot of chances, but the ball didn't want to go in.

"But we can't make excuses. I think we created chances to score, but football can be like this."

"We have to pick ourselves up and look forward because on Wednesday we have a final and we cannot fail."

Barcelona take on fierce rivals Real Madrid in the Copa del Rey on Wednesday evening.