Mourinho plays down title talks
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E-mail Shanghai Daily, February 14, 2012
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Real Madrid head coach Jose Mourinho smiles before the start of the La Liga match between Real Madrid and Real Zaragoza at Estadio Santiago Bernabeu on January 28, 2012 in Madrid, Spain. |
Jose Mourinho attempted to play down title talk after fans and local media were left convinced his Real Madrid side would win La Liga after stretching its lead to 10-points with a 4-2 victory over Levante on Sunday.
Cristiano Ronaldo rattled in his sixth hat-trick of the season as Real stormed back to win at the Bernabeu in some style, capitalizing on second-placed Barcelona's surprise 2-3 defeat at Osasuna on Saturday.
"Madrid are so close to the title that it is difficult to see any other verdict in La Liga," sports daily Marca wrote. Mourinho's side continued to set a relentless pace, reaching 58 points from 22 matches and Ronaldo's 27th goal of the campaign pushed the team's tally to 75. "There are still a lot of points in play, many games, and each one is difficult to win," Mourinho, who has won league titles in Portugal, England and Italy, said on Sunday.
"They will get harder to win because from now on teams are fighting to avoid relegation and for the European places. "While it isn't mathematically resolved we have to keep winning. If I'm not wrong we need 39 points, 13 victories, to be champions. Obviously 10 points gives us a margin of error, but every game is tough. "We will slip up, like we did against Levante in the first part of the season, but we have room for manoeuvre."
Real has only dropped eight points in the season to date, with defeats away to Levante and at home to Barca, and one draw at Racing Santander, and is on course to smash league records if it maintain its rhythm.
