Barcelona sporting director Andoni Zubizarreta concedes it will be difficult for his club to win a fourth straight La Liga title but insists they will not throw in the towel.
Barca slipped 10 points adrift of arch rivals Real Madrid this weekend and, with Jose Mourinho’s men having won 19 of their 22 league matches this season, the prospects of the Catalan side retaining their title are not looking great with 16 matches to go.
Nevertheless, Zubizarreta says Barca need to keep the heat on Madrid in case the in-form pacesetters start to falter.
“It’s obvious that we don’t depend on ourselves, nor on the game against them (Madrid) at the Nou Camp. But we cannot worry about what others are doing,” Zubizarreta was quoted as saying in the Spanish media ahead of Barca’s Champions League trip to Bayer Leverkusen. “Mathematically it is difficult, but we need to try. We have to continue competing, keep the pressure on in the league because if anything happens to Madrid we need to be there to take advantage. But if Madrid are able to continue picking up points as they have been doing they will win the league.”