Barcelona vs. Real Madrid: Barca's Focus Must Shift Quickly to Champions League

Seven points is the deficit for Barcelona after its defeat to Real Madrid 2-1 on Saturday in El Clasico.

After losing back-to-back games, Barcelona must quickly turn that focus and channel their energy towards their UEFA Champions League second-leg game against Chelsea.

Losing a game to your rival that practically destroys your title hopes is going to be extremely difficult to overcome. It's going to take a team full of character and resilience to settle things down at the Nou Camp against Chelsea.

If any team is is capable of settling things down it is Barcelona.

Despite losing two in a row and Real Madrid being ahead of them in La Liga, Barcelona is still the best team in the world. Lionel Messi is still the best player in the world. Barcelona still has talent across the board.

Things just haven't worked out in the past two games.

Saturday's loss was a wake-up call for Barcelona. Their loss during the week to Chelsea happens because winning on the road is a difficult challenge.

Barcelona isn't supposed to lose games at home, however. In fact, they didn't lose all year at the Nou Camp, giving up only eight goals prior to Saturday.

This was a simple wake-up call.

Expect Barcelona to be on their A-game offensively (like they normally are) and defensively. They will control the pace and flow of the play like we're accustomed to seeing and will capitalize on chances unlike Real Madrid and Chelsea during the week.

Barcelona will bounce back in a big way against an underachieving Chelsea team on April 24.