Barcelona squad set themselves Santiago Bernabeu challenge - 'There is league'

‘There is league’ declared Barcelona President Joan Laporta at the World Mobile Congress on Tuesday, denying the title race is over despite the eight-point gap between Real Madrid and Barcelona at the top of the table. If the Blaugrana can achieve their targets over the next month, then that may well be the case.

Their objective is to cut the gap to their arch rivals by at least two points by the time they arrive at the Santiago Bernabeu on the weekend of the 21st of April. Diario AS say they aim to be just six points behind Real Madrid, in the knowledge that a win in the Spanish capital would blow the title race wide open, reducing it to just three points between them with seven games to go.

The theory is easier than the reality. Both have five league fixtures and Champions League duties in the meantime, and Barcelona have the harder fixture list, starting with a trip to San Mames to face Athletic Club this Sunday. After that, the Blaugrana host Real Mallorca, before heading to the toughest away trip in Spain, Atletico Madrid at the Metropolitano. Cadiz away and Las Palmas at home also await before the big date at the Bernabeu.

Meanwhile Real Madrid head to Mestalla to face Valencia this weekend, before hosting Celta Vigo and Athletic Club, combined with trips to Osasuna and Real Mallorca.

There is little doubt that Barcelona’s performances against Napoli and Getafe were improved, but it feels as if they will have to be flawless in a five-game run including European clashes and two of the toughest games on the calendar, in a season which has been strewn with errors and missed opportunities.