Puyol: Barca fate in Real hands

Barcelona captain Carles Puyol has conceded the Catalans’ hopes of winning the La Liga title no longer lay in their own hands.

The defending champions slumped to a 3-2 away loss to Osasuna on Saturday, and with Real Madrid holding a seven-point buffer at the top with a game in hand, Puyol admitted a fourth consecutive title for Barca was unlikely.

“What we have to do is try to win every week and wait. We depend on them (Real Madrid) but the most important thing is to focus on us, trying to win,” Puyol told reporters.

“He (manager Pep Guardiola) told us to go on and that is it. Get over yesterday’s match. Now we have a qualifier on Tuesday and that is always complicated,” Puyol added, referring to their midweek Champions League clash with Bayer Leverkusen.

Puyol conceded his side have struggled to reach the same heights of last season, during which they won the domestic title and Champions League.

“We are not machines who are plugged in one day and are not the next. Every week you have to be on top and that it what keeps you fit and keeps the team under pressure,” he said.

“And whoever thinks we are going to focus on the Champions League and the Copa del Rey is wrong. We are going to fight for all three titles knowing that the league looks difficult.”

“But our mind is clear. We are going to fight for a win in every game. That is what we are going to do until the end.”

Barcelona travel to Germany for the first leg in their Champions League last-16 tie with Leverkusen.