Barcelona manager Tata Martino refused to blame his players after the 1-0 loss to Valladolid in the Spanish La Liga on Saturday, saying his side is determined to fight for the title until the very end.

The  La Liga holders' bid for a fifth title in six years suffered a surprise setback when the champions crashed to a 1-0 defeat at lowly Real Valladolid on Saturday.

"The team lacked ideas but not intensity. We completely failed in generating play and that’s what stopped us from getting the result," Martino was quoted as saying on the club's official website after the game.

"We had very few chances of actually running at goal. We almost always had to fight against 10 defenders. A good solution would have been creating more space," the manager added.

The Catalans are third in the league table with 63 points, one behind leaders Real Madrid who will face Levante later on Sunday.

"Our obligation is to fight for La Liga until the last moment and that’s what we’re going to do. We had to win at the Bernabeu regardless," Martino said.

Barcelona meet arch-rivals Real Madrid on 23 March in a potentially decisive clash.

"Currently we aren’t at our best and we have to find our best form in order to play against teams like Real Madrid. We have 15 days to do it," he added. 

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