MADRID, Jan 16 - Barceleona coach Pep Guardiola
dismissed his side's five-point lead over Real Madrid at the
top of La Liga as an "anecdote" on Saturday.
Guardiola, whose future as Barca coach beyond the current
season remains unclear, predicted the championship would not be
decided until the final three or four games.
Barca took full advantage of Real's 1-0 defeat at Athletic
Bilbao earlier on Saturday by thrashing Sevilla 4-0 at the Nou
Camp.
With just under half the season gone the champions have 46
points from 18 matches to Real's 41.
"You can be sure of one thing -- The league will be decided
in the last three or four matches," Guardiola, who turns 39 on
Monday, said at a news conference.
Barca's lead over Real was "a mere anecdote that doesn't
win you any titles," he added.
The former Barca midfielder paid tribute to Argentina
forward Lionel Messi, who scored a hat-trick at promoted
Tenerife last weekend and twice more on Saturday to take him
top of the La Liga scoring chart with 14.
Saturday's strikes were his 100th and 101st for Barca in
his 188th appearance, making him at 22 the youngest player to
reach the century mark for the club, Barca said on their
website (www.fcbarcelona.com).
After netting 38 times in 51 matches in all competitions
last season, including the Champions League final victory over
Manchester United, Messi already has 21 in 27 this term.
"He has it in his own hands to break all the records
possible and he is still ambitious," Guardiola said. "He is an
example for future generations in the way he behaves."
(Reporting by Iain Rogers; Editing by Alastair Himmer; To
query or comment on this story email
sportsfeedback@thomsonreuters.com)