Thaindian News

Madrid, Feb 12 (IANS) FC Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola admitted Sunday that his side had all but lost its chances of winning the Spanish La Liga football title following a 2-3 defeat away to Osasuna.

Guardiola rested key players Xavi Hernandez, Cesc Fabregas and Andres Iniesta while Osasuna proved physically too strong for the reigning champions, racing into a 2-0 lead in the first half thanks to a brace from Dejan Lekic.

Barca’s defeat means they are seven points behind Real Madrid, who could open that gap to 10 if they defeat Levante Sunday night, something Guardiola said he expected to happen, Xinhua reported.

“The reality is that we are at an important distance from Madrid and I expect it to increase,” admitted the Barca coach, who hinted that he was giving greater importance to his sides chances of defending the Champions League.

“Now we are defending our title of European Champions and then we will play Valencia in the league. The competition will put us all where we should be. It is true that we are further away from Real Madrid, but that is a situation that arises in this sport and that’s the way it is,” continued Guardiola, who had no problems in recognising Osasuna’s superiority in the game.

“They played a much better first half than us and adapted better to the pitch and to the cold. We played well in the second half and anything could have happened but congratulations to Osasuna,” he concluded.