“Barcelona are not direct rivals at the moment”- Carlo Ancelotti

The Italian tactician believes they are other clubs currently tougher than Barcelona.

Real Madrid’s manager, Carlo Ancelotti has stated that Barcelona are not a direct rival at the moment as they sit too low down the table.

This came after Xavi stated at a press conference ahead of their La Liga clash with Elche that his side are still in the fight for the Spanish League title.

Speaking about Xavi’s comments at a press conference on Saturday, Ancelotti stated that the likes of Sevilla and Real Betis pose more threat than their bitter rivals at the moment.

“Barca are not direct rivals now, because there are other teams closer like Sevilla or Betis,” he said.

“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.”

Barcelona currently sit eighth in La Liga and are 18 points below Madrid who are table toppers after 16 matches.

Madrid would be hoping to extend their lead at the table when they take on Cadiz on Sunday to make it 11 wins in a row in the competition.

Meanwhile, Barca are without a win from their last three competitive matches, as they hope to turn that around when they host Elche on Saturday.