Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti: “Barcelona are not direct rivals”

Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti has claimed that Barcelona are not their direct rivals anymore in the ongoing season, insisting that the likes of Sevilla and Real Betis are a bigger threat to their title hopes.

Barça and Real Madrid are historic rivals and have been going at it against each other for years. However, in the ongoing campaign, the Catalans have made a poor start and find themselves in seventh place in the La Liga standings after 18 games.

Real Madrid, on the other hand, are at the top of the table, five points clear of Sevilla in second place at the time of writing. The Merengues hold a massive 16-point advantage over Barcelona.

So, even though the Catalans’ boss, Xavi Hernandez recently insisted that his team can make a late push for the title, Ancelotti is not concerned about Real Madrid’s traditional rivals.

As quoted by Goal, he said: “Barça are not direct rivals now, because there are other teams closer like Sevilla or Betis. But they have the quality to move up the table and if I were Barcelona’s coach, I would say exactly the same as Xavi.”

Real Madrid are currently on a 13-game unbeaten run across all competitions, which could become 14 should they avoid a defeat against Cadiz on Sunday.

Barcelona were handed a 2-1 defeat by Los Blancos in the El Clasico earlier this season. The two teams will face off again in January in the Supercopa de Espana semi-finals while their second La Liga encounter is scheduled to take place in March.