The Frenchman feels Barcelona were psychologically stronger than their Spanish title rivals, but hailed Lionel Messi's role in the Catalans' success.Barcelona defender Jeremy Mathieu believes that Real Madrid's lack of mental strength cost them in the decisive weeks of the Liga season.Carlo Ancelotti's men stood a point clear of Barcelona going into the winter break and had the benefit of a game in hand over their title rivals.However, Los Blancos faltered badly during the second half of the season, losing a crucial Clasico at Camp Nou, as well as dropping points against Villarreal, Athletic Bilbao and Valencia.
Barca were thus able to clinch the title with a 1-0 victory at Atletico Madrid on Saturday that left them four points clear with just one round of the season remaining.Luis Enrique's side have been praised for the football they have played during the second half of the season, with star trio Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar having combined to thrilling effect up front, but Mathieu believes that Barca also proved superior from a psychological perspective.Madrid fought hard and made life difficult for us, but they collapsed mentally toward the end of the season," the French defender is quoted as saying by AS.We only got better in the final games of the season and were better in the end.I came to Barcelona to win titles and I am delighted to have conquered La Liga.The Frenchman then went on to highlight Lionel Messi's role in Barca's success this term, with the Argentine having netted 54 times in 54 outings in all competitions.We should not forget that Messi was back to his usual best this season, the centre-half added.Messi is a player who makes the difference. It is great news for us as his team-mates that he is back to his best.Everybody here at Barcelona and everybody who likes football enjoys seeing him play. He is extraordinary.Barca are now poised to complete a treble, with Athletic Bilbao to come in the Copa del Rey final on May 30 before they travel to Berlin to take on Juventus in the Champions League final on June 6.
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