Barcelona are on course for a third successive league title after a 1-0 win at Villarreal on Saturday moved the double champions eight points clear of bitter rivals Real Madrid in the title race with just eight games left.
Spanish World Cup winner Gerard Pique scored a 67th minute winner as Barcelona capitalised on Real's surprise 1-0 home loss to unfashionable Sporting Gijon on Saturday, which ended coach Jose Mourinho's infamous 150 game league home record.
Barcelona needed a heroic late save from goalkeeper Victor Valdes to clinch all three points and take a huge step towards the 2010/11 league title.
"It is an important step towards the title," said Pique. "We just have to keep on going now. Real Madrid will never give up but we have everything in our hands."
Madrid host Barcelona on the weekend April 16/17 at the Santiago Bernabeu, but Mourinho openly admitted that the title race was virtually over after his side surrendered their 100 percent home record with a 1-0 loss against Gijon.
Miguel de las Cuevas stunned Real with a 78th minute winner as Mourinho lost his first home league match in over nine years with his last league home loss back in February 2002 when his FC Porto side lost 3-2 at home to Beira Mar.
"Luck is a part of football and our opponents had it all, while we didn't have any," said Mourinho
"We had Cristiano (Ronaldo), Marcelo, (Karim) Benzema and Xabi (Alonso) missing and had to play a bit more direct tonight. We had lots of goalscoring chances from two or three metres but they just didn't go in."
The return of Argentine international forward Gonzalo Higuain, out of action with a back problem since late November, was the only positive on a terrible night for Real, who must pick themselves up for Tuesday's Champions League quarter-final first leg against Tottenham Hotspur at the Bernabeu.
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| Gerard Pique |
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