Wesley Sneijder struck the winner for Real, which suffered the dismissal of Miguel Torres but still managed to do enough to clinch the three points.

Pepe said afterwards: "The Liga is still not over, there are still many points to fight for, until everything is mathematically decided, anything can happen in the world of football.

"We cannot relax, even if it would be quite difficult to lose the championship with the advantage we have at this moment. It is important to continue going forward with the positive spirit we have and the humility we've shown until now."