Barcelona boss Xavi has insisted that his side are not the favourites for the La Liga title this season, despite opening up an eight-point advantage at the summit.
Real Madrid's 1-0 loss to Mallorca on Sunday afternoon left the reigning champions in second position in the table, five points behind leaders Barcelona.
The Catalan outfit moved eight points clear on Sunday night, though, by recording a 3-0 victory over Sevilla at Camp Nou, with Jordi Alba, Gavi and Raphinha on the scoresheet.
Barcelona have now won each of their last 10 matches in all competitions, including their last five league fixtures, but Xavi has said that his side are only "candidates to win the league".
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"I see ourselves as candidates to win the league, but the favourite is always the defending champion. It's Madrid, and we can't lower our intensity at any moment. They can beat anyone," the Barcelona boss told reporters during his post-match press conference.
"This team has the capacity to win every title we're competing for. But we can't only say it, we have to show it. Words mean nothing. There have been crazy comebacks in La Liga before. We have to avoid that at all costs.
"I still don't think we're the favourites for La Liga. We're only in February, and we have any tough matches upcoming. The euphoria is nice, but we have to be cautious.
"I don't know if we're the most reliable team in La Liga, but we're in good form, sure. We can't let our guard down. Our work is starting to show. The players believe in themselves and they believe in us.
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"Beating Madrid in the Supercup gave us a lot of confidence. There were a lot of players that hadn't won a title before that. As the good results come, the players start to believe more in the technical staff.
"We have to remember where we came from, where we were a year ago... to where we are now. Normally we struggle a lot against deep blocks but today we created a lot of chances."
Barcelona will continue their La Liga campaign away to Villarreal next Sunday before welcoming Manchester United for the first leg of their Europa League knockout round playoff encounter on February 16.
The Catalan outfit suffered an early blow against Sevilla, though, with Sergio Busquets forced off in the early stages of the contest after picking up an ankle problem.
Matt Law
