The Spain international is confident that the Blaugrana will soon get back to winning ways and is still hopeful they will reach the Champions League quarter-finals

Jordi Alba insists Barcelona’s recent struggles will only serve to make them stronger after they were beaten 3-1 by Real Madrid in the quarter-finals of the Copa del Rey on Tuesday night.

The Blaugrana lost 2-0 to AC Milan in the Champions League last week and their miserable February continued with a 4-2 aggregate defeat to los Blancos, complete with another lacklustre display at Camp Nou.

“We fought against Madrid but it wasn’t meant to be. This defeat will make us stronger ahead of the Champions League, though,” Alba told reporters.

“We’ve lost two crucial matches but we still have the return leg against Milan and I’m sure we will do better.

“If we score early, we’ll have a great chance to make it through to the next round.

“The team has shown that it can win any tie.”

Barca face Madrid for the second time in a week when they clash in La Liga at the Santiago Bernabeu on Saturday.