Marcelo won't concede title after Clasico loss: 'We're going to fight until the end'
Despite his team's 2-1 loss to Barcelona in the latest installment of El Clasico - a result which puts Real Madrid four points adrift of their perennial rivals at the top of the league table - Marcelo is unwilling to concede that the title race is over.
The Brazilian left-back, speaking after the match, said that Los Blancos will remain hopeful of making up the gap and claiming the Liga crown.
"We played better in some parts of the game and we had more possession than them in the first half and at the beginning of the second half, but in the end they were better. It was a key game where we could have gone ahead of them, but there are games left and we are going to keep fighting," Marcelo said.
"We are never going to give in, we are going to keep battling, and be aware of our faults so that we do not make them again. Now we do not depend on ourselves and it is more difficult, but we are going to fight on until the end."
His fellow defender Pepe echoed those sentiments:
"We took a lot of risks and after the second goal we did not remain faithful to our style of play. That was when Barcelona had more opportunities and we wanted to do things more with our hearts than with our heads.
"We have not lost La Liga, there is a long way to go and we know that we have the quality to win it. We are going to keep fighting to win every game. We are going to battle until the end that is what the Real Madrid badge demands. We have the example of last year, where La Liga was not decided until the final match."
The Portuguese center-back continued:
"We knew that it would be an important step forward if we won, but even so we knew that there would be a lot of work to do to become champions. We are going to keep working. We have to fight until the end."
Both Real Madrid and Barcelona now have 10 matches remaining in their respective league schedule, with each side still facing a daunting trip to Sevilla - who haven't lost at home in La Liga in a year - and a home match against third-placed Valencia.
It may feel like it now, but as the two defenders duly note, it's not over yet.