Atletico Madrid goalkeeper Miguel Moya has admitted that his side were made to pay for a poor first-half performance against Barcelona on Sunday.

Barca led 2-0 at the interval of their La Liga meeting at Camp Nou, before both teams scored once more in the second period to produce a final score of 3-1.

"We didn't play a good first half, it was difficult for us and we created a lot of chances that we just couldn't convert," Moya told Canal +.

"In the second half, we wanted to put on a strong showing, score a goal to get back in the game and we did that, but when we went down 3-1, the match was over. However, in the second half we improved a lot and got an early goal.

"When you face Barcelona, you have to put on a strong front from the get go, play with tight lines and play another game different than theirs in the counter attack. We tried to make things a little complicated on our end, but the first half cost us the match."

Atletico return to action against Real Madrid in the second leg of their last-16 Copa del Rey clash on Thursday.