Mitchell had already said that a win would take his team to a new dimension and there is now no doubt that they are real title contenders this season.
However, Barcelona’s title defense is on the ropes. “We are seven points behind, which is a lot, but there is still more than half the season left,” De Jong told DAZN.
“There is still time, but we still have a lot to come back from.”
Earlier Diego Simeone’s Atletico had taken an early two-goal lead through Alvaro Morata and Angel Correa, but Leo Baptistao pulled Almería into the game after an hour.
Atlético continued to win as the Andalusian strugglers threatened to draw level at the Metropolitano.
“They put pressure on us in the second half, we couldn’t find solutions and it was difficult for us,” Atletico forward Antoine Griezmann admitted to Movistar.
Athletic Bilbao’s visit of Granada was halted in the 18th minute after a fan died in the stands, after which the match was abandoned.
Iñaki Williams had sent the Basques ahead and they will resume play with the lead on 17 minutes on Monday night.