Carlo Ancelotti ramps up La Liga title pressure on Barcelona before Espanyol clash

Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti has refused to accept defeat in the La Liga title race, warning leaders Barcelona "anything can happen in football".

Barcelona were moments away from being crowned champions on Wednesday evening before 20-year-old defender Jacobo Ramon's 95th-minute winner for Madrid against Mallorca ensured the title race would drag on for at least another 24 hours.

Victory over Espanyol on Thursday evening would be enough to seal the title for Barcelona, who sit four points ahead of a Madrid side who only have two games left to play this season.

"The team hasn't given up despite the difficulties we have faced," he began. "We've been able to make up for these [injury] losses, which are of many very important players, with a good attitude both collectively and individually... I've never seen a team that has shot 40 times on goal like we have.

"We only believe in winning our game in the next home game and then seeing what happens. Obviously, [Barcelona] will have to play and in football anything can happen.

"We've done well offensively. In these types of games you struggle more to score, and this season we've conceded a lot of goals for many reasons, and the thing is that we've always been short four or five defenders."

Reflecting on the season as a whole, Ancelotti doubled down on his assessment that injuries had hampered Madrid's bid to lift the title.

"A lot of absences, and we were still able to, with an extraordinary effort... it would have changed the season from the start," he concluded.

This is Ancelotti's final La Liga title race as the Italian tactician will step down at the end of the season in order to become the new Brazil boss. Xabi Alonso is expected to take his place in the Bernabeu dugout.

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