Xavi: Barcelona Coach Explains Why Real Madrid Are Still Favourites for La Liga Title

• The 2022-23 La Liga title race is fast becoming a one-horse race with Barcelona stretching their lead at the top of the table
• Barcelona took advantage of Real Madrid's shock 1-0 loss to Mallorca with an emphatic 3-0 win over Sevilla on Sunday
• Despite their handsome lead at the summit of La Liga, Barca coach Xavi Hernandez has deflated his side's title ambitions

Real Madrid has been touted as favourites to win the 2022-23 Spanish topflight despite trailing rivals Barcelona by a whopping eight points.

Madrid's title defence has not gone to plan, suffering their third loss in La Liga against Real Mallorca on Sunday.

A myriad of reasons including injuries to key players have contributed to their slump, invariably putting Barcelona in pole position to annex their first league crown since 2019.

The Catalan giants have taken advantage of Madrid's inconsistency to tighten their grip on the league log.

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Despite history showing Los Blancos have never recovered from an eight-point deficit to win the topflight, Barcelona boss Xavi thinks otherwise.

Following his side's comprehensive victory over Sevilla, Xavi still fancies the Santiago Bernabeu outfit to defend their league trophy.

"The favourite to win La Liga is Real Madrid because they are the current champion and also of the Champions League. We are candidates," he said as quoted by MadridXtra.

Xavi demands more

Barcelona continues to lead the way in La Liga, but coach Xavi is not happy with how his team is playing.

La Blaugrana's manager was reacting to the side's recent 1-0 victory over Getafe.

Despite the victory, Xavi described the side's performance as being too slow and tedious for his liking, Goal reported.

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Barca stretch La Liga lead

Barcelona stretched their La Liga lead over Real Madrid to a substantial eight points with a comfortable 3-0 win over Sevilla on Sunday, Sports Brief earlier reported.

The Catalans, aiming to win their first Spanish title since 2019, punished second-placed Madrid for their 1-0 defeat by Real Mallorca earlier on, opening up a wide gap ahead of their rivals.

After a tight first half Jordi Alba broke the deadlock before the hour mark, with further goals from Gavi and Raphinha helping wrap up the win.