Puyol: Barca will not give up

Barcelona captain Carles Puyol says his team will not go down easily in the race for the La Liga title, despite lagging behind Real Madrid.

Barca won 2-1 at Atletico Madrid on Sunday, but remain 10 points off the pace in the Spanish top flight, after leaders Real Madrid defeated Rayo Vallecano 1-0 away from home earlier the same day.

Pep Guardiola, coach of reigning champions Barca, acknowledged after his side’s victory at Estadio Vicente Calderon that the La Liga race may well be over, but Puyol has called on the team to continue picking up victories, hoping Jose Mourinho’s slip up.

“Winning the Liga is very hard, but we will fight until the end,” Puyol told reporters after the match.

“We will not lower our heads.”

“Mathematics may be against us, but we will fight for the three points every week.”

Barca host Sporting Gijon in their next La Liga fixture on March 3.