- Barcelona star Gerard Pique could be penalized for his comments after Sevilla draw.
- Real Madrid are just three points behind Barcelona on the La Liga standings and could go level on points with the Catalans with a victory against Real Sociedad.
FC Barcelona centre-back Gerard Pique could be sanctioned for his brutally honest post-match comments after his side’s draw against Sevilla.
The defender said that it would be difficult for Barcelona to take maximum points from their remaining games as stopping Real Madrid appears next to impossible.
In doing so, the Barcelona veteran appeared to take a dig at the VAR decisions in Real Madrid games, as he seemingly went on to cite the results of the last two rounds going in Los Blancos’ favour.
Barcelona, after back-to-back wins in their first couple of games, dropped points for the first time since La Liga’s resumption. It was a lacklustre display from Quique Setien’s men, who just couldn’t carve out an opening.
“Difficult to win the league,” says Barcelona’s Pique
Barcelona were up against a well-stacked Sevilla midfield that had bodies behind the ball. The home side closed down the channels well and kept Lionel Messi at bay, who had a below par game by his standards.
The Argentine, who is just one strike away from 700 career goals for club and country, came closest to breaking the deadlock with two free-kicks that went just over the bar.
He must have felt the burnout after three games in just nine days, while Luis Suarez, who started his first game after surgery, appeared far from being match fit.
Pique was frustrated as Real Madrid are now within touching distance of Barcelona. Expressing his anguish after the game, the Spaniard said:
“Seeing what we’ve done in the last two rounds, it’s going to be very difficult to win this league. From what I’ve seen, it’s very hard to see Real Madrid dropping points.”
Mentioning his assessment of the last couple of rounds in the division not once but twice, Pique supposedly took a jibe at Barcelona’s arch-rivals.
Spanish publication SPORT have claimed that if the above comments are interpreted wrongly by the arbitration, he could be in trouble with either a fine or in worse situations, a suspension. Should the arbitration view the Barcelona defender’s comments as wrong, they’ll report a complaint to the Competition Committee.
The governing body will then oversee the case and come to a conclusion. It could be a meaty blow for Barcelona should he face suspension, since the Catalan giants are already without Samuel Umtiti.
In fact, it is safe to say that Real Madrid did get their slice of fortune in their 3-0 win over Valencia. Rodrigo Moreno had slotted past Thibaut Courtois, but the VAR scrapped it due to a possible offside by Maxi Gomez. As it turned out after a few replays, Raphael Varane had the last touch of the ball, and it was surprising to see it go unnoticed.
Barcelona defender Pique, however, did admit that Sevilla were a tough nut to crack. He added:
“It was a very competitive game and we didn’t play badly but this feels like two points dropped because we had more chances than them and they were looking tired towards the end. But they are third in the league, they are a top team so we should not be surprised that it was difficult.”
Barcelona will aim to return to winning ways when they host Athletic Club on Tuesday. Should Los Blancos win their fixture against Real Sociedad by a four-goal margin, they could leapfrog Barcelona at the top as they are just three points adrift of the Catalan giants.
