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BARCELONA. — Barcelona boss Ernesto Valverde says Spain’s La Liga soccer title race remains wide open despite his side’s imperious start to the season.

Their 2-1 victory over Sevilla on Saturday means they have taken 31 points from a possible 33 available this season, only failing to win when they drew 1-1 away to Atletico Madrid last month.

They had an 11-point advantage over rivals Real Madrid, who hosted Las Palmas on Sunday, while Valencia, their nearest rivals, remain four points back.

Valverde, however, is refusing to get carried away.

“We’re top, and that means we’re not missing anything. We go into the international break happy and after that we have a very tough schedule,” he said. “We need to continue strong as we are and not look back. We just need to focus on ourselves.”

Valverde also said that the current political tension in Catalonia is not impacting on his players.

There were banners in support of the politicians who have been arrested following last month’s banned independence referendum, while there were also cries of “Freedom” from fans heard throughout the match. — AFP