Guardiola scoffs at big lead over Real
Source: Agencies |
January 18, 2010, Monday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
BARCELONA coach Pep Guardiola dismissed his side's five-point lead over Real Madrid at the top of La Liga as an "anecdote" on Saturday.
Guardiola, whose future as Barca coach beyond the current season remains unclear, predicted the championship would not be decided until the final three or four games.
Barca took full advantage of Real's 0-1 defeat at Athletic Bilbao earlier on Saturday by thrashing Sevilla 4-0 at the Nou Camp.
With just under half the season gone the champion has 46 points from 18 matches to Real's 41. Valencia, which was hosting local rival Villarreal today, is third with 35.
"You can be sure of one thing - the league will be decided in the last three or four matches," Guardiola, who turns 39 today, said at a news conference.
Barca's lead over Real was "a mere anecdote that doesn't win you any titles," he added.
The former Barca midfielder paid tribute to Argentina forward Lionel Messi, who scored a hat-trick at promoted Tenerife last weekend and twice more on Saturday to take him top of the La Liga scoring chart with 14.
Saturday's strikes were his 100th and 101st for Barca in his 188th appearance, making him at 22 the youngest player to reach the century mark for the club, Barca said on its Website.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Thierry Henry also scored for the Catalans as they avenged a shock Copa del Rey loss to Sevilla.
At San Mames, Bilbao, home goalkeeper Gorka Iraizoz pulled off a string of superb saves to deny the visitors' expensively-assembled strikeforce after Fernando Llorente's third-minute opener.
Karim Benzema, Cristiano Ronaldo and Kaka - who together cost Real almost 200 million euros (US$289 million) in the close season - had numerous chances to level the match.
Guardiola, whose future as Barca coach beyond the current season remains unclear, predicted the championship would not be decided until the final three or four games.
Barca took full advantage of Real's 0-1 defeat at Athletic Bilbao earlier on Saturday by thrashing Sevilla 4-0 at the Nou Camp.
With just under half the season gone the champion has 46 points from 18 matches to Real's 41. Valencia, which was hosting local rival Villarreal today, is third with 35.
"You can be sure of one thing - the league will be decided in the last three or four matches," Guardiola, who turns 39 today, said at a news conference.
Barca's lead over Real was "a mere anecdote that doesn't win you any titles," he added.
The former Barca midfielder paid tribute to Argentina forward Lionel Messi, who scored a hat-trick at promoted Tenerife last weekend and twice more on Saturday to take him top of the La Liga scoring chart with 14.
Saturday's strikes were his 100th and 101st for Barca in his 188th appearance, making him at 22 the youngest player to reach the century mark for the club, Barca said on its Website.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Thierry Henry also scored for the Catalans as they avenged a shock Copa del Rey loss to Sevilla.
At San Mames, Bilbao, home goalkeeper Gorka Iraizoz pulled off a string of superb saves to deny the visitors' expensively-assembled strikeforce after Fernando Llorente's third-minute opener.
Karim Benzema, Cristiano Ronaldo and Kaka - who together cost Real almost 200 million euros (US$289 million) in the close season - had numerous chances to level the match.
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