Warsaw, Feb 25 (IANS): "We were close to beating Manchester United and that's why the defeat in the Europa League is so painful," FC Barcelona striker Robert Lewandowski claimed on Friday.

On Thursday evening, Lewandowski converted a penalty to put FC Barcelona ahead, but in the second half, United scored twice to win 4-3 on aggregate in the UEFA Europa League Round of 32, reports Xinhua.

"In the first half we had the game under control, we scored and tried to attack. We still had a chance to score a second goal. The first half looked very good. In the second, Manchester United pressed us, scoring two goals. It was a hard time for us. We fought to the end," the Pole told Viaplay on Friday.

"We are aware that this Barcelona project is in process and it's not like in a week or a month everything will change. It was Champions League level, a quarterfinal and even a semifinal. Both Manchester United and us are in good shape and it showed. We were missing something and we need to focus on what needs to be improved now. We need to create more chances," the forward added.

In La Liga, the team coached by Xavi Hernandez sits top with an eight-point advantage over second-placed Real Madrid.

"We focus on the domestic competition. We wanted to play in the European Cup. We were close to beating Manchester United, that's why the defeat really hurts us but we have to look forward," Lewandowski concluded.