Barcelona midfielder Andres Iniesta has claimed that Real Madrid cannot be written off in their bid to retain the La Liga title despite falling to a 3-0 defeat in El Clasico.

Luis Suarez, Lionel Messi and Aleix Vidal all struck in the second half at the Bernabeu to humiliate Los Blancos and put the Blaugrana nine points ahead of second-placed Atletico Madrid in the table.

Despite entering the Christmas break with a 14-point advantage over their bitter rivals following Saturday's result, Iniesta has refused to rule Real out in the title race.

"I do not think the distance in points shows the distance in quality between the two teams," Iniesta told beIN Sports.

"We are very respectful of Madrid. We know they are one of the best clubs in the world, so we never rule them out for La Liga.

"There are still so many matches to play and Madrid, in their history have always proved they can pull off the impossible."

Barca return to La Liga action on January 7 with a home game against Levante.