Barcelona coach Frank Rijkaard insisted there was no danger of his players getting carried away by a 2-0 victory over Valencia that left them on the verge of winning a first league title in six years.
"We did our job very well and this win opens the door to the championship," the Dutchman told a news conference after his side's victory over last season's champions at the Mestalla.
"But we will only be celebrating when the moment finally comes. The players are delighted with this result because it was a key game but they know how to deal with the euphoria that has been growing throughout the season."
The Catalans stormed to an important win that put them six points clear of Real Madrid with three games left to play thanks to a stunning 20-metre drive from Ronaldinho just before the half hour and a cool finish from leading scorer Samuel Eto'o two minutes later.
"I always think that the great players come to the fore at the most important moments and that is exactly what Ronaldinho did," said Rijkaard.
"It was a superb goal and helped calm the whole team down. "Eto'o also deserved his as he works so hard on the pitch. But although those two players made the difference today the key thing was that we played as a team.
"The strength of this team is that we have not been drawn into a psychological battle with Real, but that we have always remained focused on ourselves and no one has been able to distract us."
Club captain Carles Puyol echoed Rijkaard's sentiments.
"This is an important step on the way to the title, but it is still theoretically possible for it to escape us and we won't be relaxing until we are champions," he told reporters.
A victory at struggling Levante next week would guarantee Barcelona a 17th league championship since they have a better record in head-to-head clashes with Real, who have a tough away fixture against Sevilla.
© 2024 Rediff.com -