Barcelona defender Gerard Pique said his side have it all to do if they are to retain their Spanish title this season after being held to a 0-0 draw at Sevilla on Friday, handing Real Madrid the chance to top the standings this weekend.
“Seeing how the matches have gone so far, it’s going to be very difficult for us to win this league,” Pique said after the stalemate, which interrupted a run of two wins from two since the season resumed after being halted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The draw leaves us in a position where we no longer depend on ourselves and looking at the fixtures it’s difficult to imagine Real Madrid are going to drop points but we’ll still give everything to try and win it.”
Real trail Barca by three points and if they beat Real Sociedad today they will overtake the Catalans at the top of the standings due to their superior head-to-head record.
Zinedine Zidane’s side beat Valencia 3-0 on Thursday with a superb second-half display and won 3-1 against Eibar in their first game back and the extra time off has allowed Eden Hazard and Marco Asensio to return from injury.
Barca had beaten Real Mallorca on their return and defeated struggling Leganes 2-0 although they looked sluggish at times in both matches.
Pique said they had deserved to beat third-placed Sevilla and cursed not being able to score.
“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,” he added.
In another news, Zinedine Zidane insists Real Madrid are not benefiting from preferential treatment from referees after Gerard Pique appeared to concede defeat in the race for the La Liga title.
Barcelona were held to a goalless draw against Sevilla on Friday evening and although they extended their lead at the top of the table to three points, Real could usurp them tomorrow should they win at Real Sociedad.
Valencia thought they had taken the lead against Zidane’s side in midweek, but Rodrigo’s strike was controversially ruled out because team-mate Maxi Gomes adjudged to have been standing in an offside position.
The decision was ridiculed by Barcelona midfielder Arturo Vidal on social media and Pique appeared to reference it in his post match interview following the stalemate against Sevilla.
‘Now we don’t depend on ourselves… we are going to do everything possible, but I imagine very few points will be dropped.
‘It’s going to be difficult for Real Madrid to lose points and today we lost an opportunity to keep depending on ourselves.’
Addressing Pique’s remarks at his pre-match press conference, meanwhile, Zidane said: ‘What interests me is tomorrow’s game. I have my opinion, but I’m not going to say.
‘Each person will think what they think. All I have to say is that we’re thinking about this upcoming game because the truth is that it’s all that matters to us right now.
‘What we want to do is play on the pitch. I am the way I am, it’s my way of being. I’m like that, I take advantage of everything that affects me in life. I’m lucky enough to be able to do what I like and not everyone can say the same.
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