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Carles Puyol: La Liga not over yet for Barcelona, but beating Madrid will be tough
The Catalans' skipper has admitted that they face a difficult task to leapfrog Real Madrid in the table, but is adamant that they're not giving up yet
Feb 12, 2012 6:55:00 PM
By Stefan Coerts
Barcelona skipper Carles Puyol has voiced his opinion that the Primera Division title is Real Madrid's to lose following the Catalans' 3-2 loss away against Osasuna on Saturday.
Puyol stressed that it will be very complicated for Barcelona to retain the league title, but added that the Blaugranas are not giving up just yet.
"Clearly we're not happy with the match at Osasuna, but La Liga is not lost yet. We must be realistic and accept that it's complicated, but if this team has anything, it's that we will not give up, and we'll fight to the end," Puyol said on a press conference.
"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
"Although we're dependent on Real Madrid to be able to reduce the distance between them, our objective is to focus on ourselves. We have to try and win, and if we get there, great, and if not, at least we tried."
Barcelona are currently trailing Real Madrid by seven points, the Blancos also having a game in hand.
Starting in November and continuing through to the middle of February, Goal.com is publishing exclusive extracts from Graham Hunter's highly-anticipated new book, 'Barca: The Making of the Greatest Team in the World'. The last extract looked at how Barca suffered rare disappointment at the hands of Real Madrid in a gripping finale to last season's Copa del Rey. Don't miss it!
| Bet: | Returns: | Bilbao £85.00 | Draw £55.00 | Barcelona £12.50 |
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| Bet: | Returns: | Bilbao £95.00 | Draw £55.00 | Barcelona £12.90 |
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| Bet: | Returns: | Bilbao £90.00 | Draw £50.00 | Barcelona £13.00 |
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| Bet: | Returns: | Bilbao £90.00 | Draw £60.00 | Barcelona £12.90 |
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| Bet: | Returns: | Bilbao £87.00 | Draw £53.00 | Barcelona £12.50 |
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Puyol stressed that it will be very complicated for Barcelona to retain the league title, but added that the Blaugranas are not giving up just yet.
"Clearly we're not happy with the match at Osasuna, but La Liga is not lost yet. We must be realistic and accept that it's complicated, but if this team has anything, it's that we will not give up, and we'll fight to the end," Puyol said on a press conference.
"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
"Although we're dependent on Real Madrid to be able to reduce the distance between them, our objective is to focus on ourselves. We have to try and win, and if we get there, great, and if not, at least we tried."
Barcelona are currently trailing Real Madrid by seven points, the Blancos also having a game in hand.
Starting in November and continuing through to the middle of February, Goal.com is publishing exclusive extracts from Graham Hunter's highly-anticipated new book, 'Barca: The Making of the Greatest Team in the World'. The last extract looked at how Barca suffered rare disappointment at the hands of Real Madrid in a gripping finale to last season's Copa del Rey. Don't miss it!
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