Title race between Barcelona and Real Madrid not over
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FC Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola and his Real Madrid counterpart Manuel Pellegrini were at pains to insist that the race for the BBVA Primera Liga title was still open after both sides won their penultimate games of the season on Saturday night.
Real Madrid beat a 10-man Athletic Club Bilbao 5-1 in the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium, while Barcelona won 3-2 away to Sevilla.
Both sides will be favorites to win their last games of the season: Barcelona is at home to relegation threatened Valladolid, while Real Madrid is away to Malaga, another side threatened with the drop to the second division.
Valladolid and Malaga will be fighting for survival and Guardiola insisted his side can take nothing for granted on the last day of the campaign.
"We are not champions yet, we still have a lot of running to do and a lot of sweating through hard work before we can say that," he told sports paper AS on Sunday.
"This is not over yet, we still have not won the title and Valladolid and their coach (Javier) Clemente will make things difficult for us," said the Barca coach, who was pleased with the way his side had performed in the Sanchez Pizjuan, where Leo Messi, Bojan and Pedro were again the goalscorers.
"I'm going to remember the way we played and the chances we created against a Sevilla side that should qualify for the Champions League," he said.
Meanwhile Real Madrid coach Manuel Pellegrini maintained a slim hope that Valladolid can cause an upset
"The hopes we had in Sevilla beating Barcelona are now transferred to Valladolid, who are playing to avoid relegation. I have always said that our idea was to pressure Barca to ensure that if they wanted to win the title they would have to do so with 99 points and that we would pressure them to the end," he said.
Nevertheless Pellegrini is not optimistic Valladolid can cause an upset in the Camp Nou.
"We know it is difficult. Sevilla away was harder for Barca than Valladolid at home. We have to keep hoping. Hope is the last thing we can lose," he said.
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