Real Madrid’s win over the weekend against Levante and Barcelona’s defeat at the Reyno de Navarra has put a 10-point gap between top two La Liga teams.
The sentiments from the Camp Nou showed that the players are saddened by the accrued 10-point advantage to Real Madrid. However, despite the odds stacked against them, http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Barcelona-c38604 players remain confident of retaining their La Liga title for the fourth consecutive
time.
Pep Guardiola and his men had a lot to say after dropping points for the umpteenth time on the road with their title hopes fading in the twilight.
The Catalan manager admitted that they have a grim task on their hands but refused to give in as of yet:
“We have to keep on going until the end. We don’t really have many perspectives to work from: we can only play the next game as best we can."
With the Spanish Primera Division looking out of question for the Camp Nou-based outfit, Guardiola stated that they have to focus on the UEFA Champions League as they have a chance to retain their European title.
"Now we will try to defend the title of European champions," he declared. "We have to defend our position in the Champions League and then we'll play the next match against http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Valencia-c40863 [in La Liga] at our best."
On the other hand, http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Pedro-c29582 Rodriguez and Andres Iniesta, all stated their grief at the situation Barcelona find themselves in.
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Carles-c8330 Puyol’s words were the embodiment of what most of the Barcelona players had to say to the media representatives after the match. The experienced stopper reflected that Barcelona will fight for all three competitions they are in and rejected notions
of focusing primarily on the Champions League.
"We will fight for all three competitions, and anyone who thinks otherwise is mistaken. Before, we were in front and we were forced to keep winning win because they were close behind. Now we must try to win, to put pressure on them to do the same.”
With the team captain making his views heard, the young Isaac Cuenca also shed his opinion on the precarious situation Barcelona are going through and requested Les Cules to bestow their faith in the players.
Cuenca’s remarks in the aftermath were most appealing and the Reus born-player should be commended for his mature thinking. The exciting winger came directly to the point and admitted that the defeat is due to the failure of players. He added that Barcelona
cannot make excuses and attribute the loss to freezing weather.
With Real Madrid facing Levante in their league fixture, it was anticipated that Barcelona will be given a breathing room after facing Osasuna. However, the extraordinary chain of events over the weekend has left La Blaugrana chasing their La Liga title.
Mourinho’s teams are not known for surrendering such dominating positions this late in the season; however, counting out the world’s best team just yet might be a big mistake. The sentiment from the Catalan dressing room is of hope and ambition, and they
certainly have the squad to overcome the odds.
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