Gerard Pique never misses a chance to take a swipe at Real Madrid and took the opportunity again as the side prepares for El Clasico.
Barcelona registered a 4-2 victory over Sevilla in the La Liga last night, thanks to a stunning performance from Lionel Messi.
The Argentinian superstar scored a hattrick as he inspired the side to a brilliant second-half comeback in the game.
Barca will now face Real Madrid in the second leg of the Copa del Rey on Wednesday. Real, meanwhile, will take on Levante later tonight before they start preparing for the heavyweight clash.
Real Madrid’s manager, Santiago Solari wasn’t pleased with the scheduling of Real Madrid’s fixtures.
“The schedule is curious,” he added. “It is really funny. We didn’t set up to play in different conditions, so we face it as a big challenge.”
Winning the league became harder after our loss against Girona. Solari must start with the 2nd squad against Levante & the rest the main players against Barcelona in Copa Del Rey as its the only competition we can win this season. #HalaMadrid
— ⓫Abdallah M.⓫ (@abdallah_rm11) February 24, 2019
As’s Cover | “Solari ironic about the 29 hours of rest Barcelona will get more than Madrid: The schedule is entertaining.” pic.twitter.com/KndSw9yfaE
— Real Madrid Info (@RMadridInfo) February 24, 2019
The manager seemingly complained about Barcelona getting an extra rest-day to prepare for Copa del Rey’s second leg.
However, Gerard Pique has now taken a towering dig at Real Madrid over the complaint.
Talking to the media after the side’s victory over Sevilla, Pique aimed a brutal swipe at Real Madrid.
“The last time they had one day more rest than us we won 5-1,” Pique pointed out.
“I know they’re looking forward to facing us. They will be really up for it but we will do everything possible to reach the cup final. Then, winning the league game wouldn’t decide the title, but it would make a huge statement if we won.”
Ernesto Valverde also criticised Solari’s comments, stating that the issues related to the schedule are common for every football club.
“Look, anyone can complain about the calendar,” he said after Barca’s win at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan. “Sevilla played on Wednesday and today [Saturday].
MATCHDAY!
We need to regroup & bounce back after last week’s poor performance & disappointing result
This team under Solari has comeback strongly after a setback almost everytime & we shouldn’t be expecting anything different this time pic.twitter.com/AIwb2V0939
— Don Case fan account (@Aaruls12) February 24, 2019
🗣 What do you think about Solari complaining and saying that you’ll have one more day of rest before el Clásico match?
🔊 Piqué: “Well, in the last league match they rested one day more than us and we won 5-1.”
Mr. President. 😎 pic.twitter.com/U05gY6sGyw
— BarçaTimes (@BarcaTimes) February 24, 2019
💥 Piqué: “Solari’s complains about the calendar and having one day less rest? In October, Madrid had one day of rest and we beat them 5-1. I want to think of the Cup since we want to play in the final, then it’ll be time to talk about the league.” #fcblive
— FC Barcelona Fl 🏆 (@FCBarcelonaFl) February 23, 2019
“It depends on the club that’s talking about it [the schedule], it can become more of an issue, but this happens to us all.”
Barcelona play Real Madrid twice next week – both the games at Santiago Bernabeu.
