Barcelona defender Gerard Pique has played down the significance of going top of La Liga after they hammered Rayo Vallecano 6-1 on Sunday.

Lionel Messi scored a hat-trick to add to Luis Suarez's brace and a strike from Pique himself, but the centre-back was keen to underplay the achievement of leapfrogging Real Madrid at the top of the standings.

He told Canal+: "We're not worried about being leaders right now, because there's lots of games to play in La Liga and it's a long journey.

"I think a La Liga with teams hitting 100 points was a brief mirage. Now it's a lot harder, the other teams are more competitive and you're going to lose more points through the season, but I hope we're the ones who slip up less."

Luis Enrique's men continue their title tilt when they travel to Eibar next week.

Written by
Paul Gorst