Real Madrid coach Juande Ramos says their title bid is on. After thrashing Real Betis 6-1 and seeing Barcelona defeated by Espanyol, Ramos declared: "We're closer. I never said that there was no chance for the league. There's plenty of the championship to go and we have dug ourselves out of a deep hole, for the injuries and a myriad of things.
"We've cut three points, but seven is a disadvantage for most teams and even at Real Madrid or Barcelona they are still many."
On the performance of goal scorer Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, Ramos avoided personally congratulating the player.
He added: "For better and for worse, we all must share the work. The team has grown and, therefore, all the players have improved their performance. Madrid has a lot of talent and this should be put at the service of the team."