Football News : Guardiola: Title is not won in December

By ESPNsoccernet staff

Pep Guardiola does not believe Barcelona's 3-1 victory at Real Madrid is the decisive blow in the fight for the Primera Division title, insisting "there are no champions in December".

GettyImagesPep Guardiola has never lost to Real Madrid at the Bernabeu as Barcelona manager

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For the fourth season in a row, Barca came away from the Bernabeu with all three points after goals from Alexis Sanchez, Lionel Messi and Cesc Fabregas saw them come from behind to leapfrog Real into top spot in La Liga.

But with the Catalans now heading off to Japan to compete at the Club Wo rld Cup, Jose Mourinho's side have the opportunity to reclaim top spot before Christmas as they still boast a game in hand.

The victory at the Bernabeu has certainly blown the title race wide open, though Guardiola is expecting plenty of twists and turns ahead before the champions are crowned in May.

"I am delighted with the performance,'' Guardiola said. "Madrid will recover. To win here, you have to play a very good game and we have done that. But there is still much to do and Madrid will again be the leader if they beat Sevilla. There are no champions in December.''

Guardiola also voiced confidence in his goalkeeper Victor Valdes, who gave the ball away for the opening goal and looked shaky in the early going before making some crucial saves later on.

"Winning here is always worthwhile and challenging, and you can see that in the performance of Valdes, who after conceding early has not taken another hit,'' he said.