Alvaro Arbeloa believes he and his Real Madrid team-mates will be celebrating another La Liga title if they can win their remaining fixtures.
A 9-1 win over Granada on Sunday was Real’s biggest league win since 1967, and Cristiano Ronaldo became the first Los Blancos player to score five goal in a match since Fernando Morientes did likewise in a 7-0 win over Las Palmas 13 years ago. Barcelona, though, denied their rivals a perfect day when they beat Celta Vigo later in the day to maintain their lead at the top of the table.
Luis Enrique’s side are four points clear of their great rivals with nine fixtures remaining, whilst Real have the better head-to-head record of the two sides should they be tied once all matches have been completed. Arbeloa believes Carlo Ancelotti’s side can still overhaul the Catalans outright though, although he accepts they may have to win all their remaining games to do so.
“We are hoping to win all our games from now until the end of the season,” said the 32-year-old defender. “That’s what we want to do but I know it’s going to be hard. However, Barcelona have tougher fixtures than us and history shows you sometimes drop points when you least expect it. This 9-1 win has helped us to focus, and we are going to need everyone over the next six weeks.”
Real also face a two-legged tie with city rivals Atletico Madrid in the UEFA Champions League this month, the winner of which will progress to the semi-finals. This is a competition Barcelona are also still involved with as they take on Paris Saint Germain, and they could even win the treble as they have a Copa del Rey final date against Athletic Bilbao to look forward to next month.
