Diego Simeone admitted Lionel Messi was the difference as Barcelona took a big step towards winning the La Liga title with a 1-0 victory over Atletico Madrid on Sunday.
Messi scored the only goal of the game with a brilliant free-kick in the first half as Barca moved eight points clear of Atleti at the top of the table.
And Atletico head coach Simeone said: "If we take Messi and put him in an Atletico shirt, we win this match 1-0. Messi is a special player, he made the difference.
"We have no doubt that we can get closer to our objectives.
"What we can't do is distance ourselves from the numerical reality that Barcelona and Real Madrid have been dominating for 14 years, we did the impossible [in winning the 2013/14 title] and it's hard to repeat that."
While Atletico had few chances in the match as they looked to close the gap on Barca to two points, Simeone said: "It was an even match, I don't think we lacked application in the first half. However, we didn't see our best until the second half.
"The game is 90 minutes and there's always stages when you don't play well. There were very few chances in the game and while we didn't attack in the first half, in the second we were closer to being the team we truly are."
Barcelona head coach Ernesto Valverde also paid tribute to Messi, and said the title race is still alive with 11 games left to play.
"There is no player like Messi in the world," he said. "Obviously there are several matches left, but we have taken a step forward. We'll see what the future holds.
"It was a very important game because being eight points ahead is not the same as two."