Yes, Barcelona are 2 points ahead of Real Madrid and I don't think there is a big gap between the two candidates for the La Liga title. Barcelona have had a good run of form in their last few matches but after the World Cup break we never really know if they will manage to keep it going or not.
2 points is a small gap, Real Madrid can overtake Barcelona in 1 match only. Don't forget that we still have 1 El Classico, it is a chance for Real Madrid to return to 1st place if they can beat Barcelona again in this match. or if Barcelona is unlucky in the next few matches, they can miss points against small teams. After the world cup, there may be a surprise in Barcelona players' performance. They may feel tired, decrease in mentality, or get injured during the world cup competition. This can impact on their performance.
You might expect Xavi to be able to make his team better after failing in the Champions League. Barcelona will focus on Laliga, so chances are they will try their best.
Barcelona still played in the Europa League, right? In February, they have a schedule to play against Man United.
So, they cannot focus on La Liga only. They should focus on the Europa League match, too.
Why all the input you're saying seems to be just assessing the shortcomings that Barcelona might suffer after the World Cup, it shows you don't think Real Madrid won't suffer the same. An assessment like this is very unequal and in fact Real Madrid and Barcelona are strong rivals in La Liga which of course, both have high quality.
Even though Real Madrid is a team that has proven to be strong in Europe with the most Champions League titles, that doesn't mean Real Madrid will continue to get maximum results in every match.
Also, the result of the El Clásico match is not entirely a benchmark for the team that wins in the El Clásico match will win the title because even if you remember last season, it was a fact that Barcelona could beat Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabéu with a great score of 0-4.
This season, the El Clásico match was won by Real Madrid with a score of 3-1 but what happened, did Real Madrid top the current La Liga standings? Apart from that, this season Real Madrid will still be playing in the Champions League so it is clear, Real Madrid and Barcelona will still focus on many events and not only focus on La Liga.
Therefore, with this close point gap, of course, the top position in the standings will still be open because these two teams are still unable to maintain perfect results in every match.
But indeed, the competition for the top position in the current La Liga standings is only for Real Madrid and Barcelona. Because the other teams at the moment are not so good and in fact, one of the teams that often became contenders in the title race in previous seasons but this season Sevilla is struggling to stay away from the relegation zone.