Real Madrid's La Liga hopes are in Barcelona hands, says Ramos

Real Madrid defender Sergio Ramos has conceded Barcelona is sitting in pole position in the race for La Liga, but he refuses to throw in the towel just yet.

The Santiago Bernabeu side has fallen seven points behind the Catalans following Barca's 3-1 win over Sporting Gijon on Wednesday, while los Blancos also trail second-placed Atletico Madrid by one point.

Sergio Ramos has stressed there are still 14 games left, though, and has urged his team-mates to keep pushing and be ready for whenever their rivals slip up.

"The title race is not over yet. There are still plenty of games ahead," Ramos told reporters.

"But it is true that everything depends on Barcelona's results for us. We still have hope that we can win it, though.

"We must remain focused and ensure we do not spill any more points and push Barcelona right until the very end.

"Atletico Madrid are obviously still ahead of us in the title race as well, so we can only wait for them to slip up."

Real resumes La Liga action on Sunday, at Malaga.