Barcelona’s Pique still hopeful of title

MADRID Despite Real Madrid’s seven-point lead in La Liga, Barcelona defender Gerard Pique says that the title race is not over and they will fight to the end and make it as difficult as possible for their bitter rivals.

Saturday, February 11, 2012

Playing todayRacing    vs    Atlético     19:00Osasuna   vs    Barcelona    21:00 Betis        vs    Athletic    23:00 Playing on Sunday Espanyol   vs    Zaragoza    13:00 Rayo       vs    Getafe    17:00 Málaga    vs    MallorcaValencia    vs    Sporting    19:00    Villarreal    vs    Granada    20:45    Real Madrid    vs    Levante     22:30 Playing on MondaySociedad    vs    Sevilla     22:00    MADRIDDespite Real Madrid’s seven-point lead in La Liga, Barcelona defender Gerard Pique says that the title race is not over and they will fight to the end and make it as difficult as possible for their bitter rivals.While the Catalan side have come out on top when they have faced Real so far this season - beating them in the league and knocking them out of the Spanish Cup - their stuttering away form has seen them fall behind in the league.They cannot afford another slip-up this weekend in Pamplona against Osasuna while they will be hoping that fourth-placed Levante can do them a favour when they play the leaders at the Bernabeu.The dropped points have been blamed on many reasons from a small squad and injuries through to a lack of desire but the fact is that they have won only four of ten matches on their travels.At the same time Real continue to roll over their opposition having won 18 of 21 games and scored 71 goals in the process, ten more than Barcelona, the side widely admired over recent years for their attacking football."I would have signed for where we are at the moment at the start of the season. We are very much alive in the league, in the Champions League and we are in the final of the cup,” said Pique, with Barcelona’s midweek win over Valencia setting them up for a repeat of the 2009 King’s Cup final against Athletic Bilbao."There is a lot of work ahead of us in the next two months but we are still alive and you can count on us being there at the end of the season.