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Sevilla coach Jorge Sampaoli firmly believes his team can challenge for the La Liga title -- something the club have not won since the 1945-46 campaign. Sevilla have reached a club record 42 points by the halfway stage of the competition and are only one point adrift of league leaders Real Madrid in second place and one point clear of Barcelona. Madrid have a game in hand. Sampaoli told Onda Cero: "To say that we are going to fight for La Liga is not a dream, it's a reality." Confidence in the Sevilla camp has been soaring since the team's 2-1 home triumph over Madrid earlier this month -- a result that brought an end to their opponents' Spanish record 40-game unbeaten run in all competitions. Sevilla have won 13 and lost just three of their 19 league games this season and have progressed to the round of 16 in the Champions League. The Andalusian club have collected a league-best 24 points from a possible 27 at home and have the third most prolific attack in Spain with 42 goals. Only Barcelona and Madrid have scored more with 51 and 48 respectively. "We are going to try to compete until the end and if we don't have the means, well then [we tried]," Sampaoli said. Sampaoli was already a respected coach in South America before he replaced Unai Emery at the helm of Sevilla last summer. He led Chile's national team into the last 16 of the 2014 World Cup, where they only exited after losing on penalties to hosts Brazil. However, one year later Sampaoli steered Chile past his native Argentina in the final of the Copa America. Sampaoli's performance this season has been all the more impressive considering Sevilla have not struggled following the departure of the successful Unai Emery to Paris Saint-Germain last summer. Emery had steered Sevilla to three straight Europa League titles as well as a club record 76 points during the 2014-15 campaign. Sevilla president Jose Castro, however, is not surprised by Sampaoli's impact. "Sampaoli transmitted to us the need to point higher, to demand more, that we had to fight for the top positions," Castro told Onda Cero. "He also brought enthusiasm."
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