Getty Gerard Pique in action against Sevilla
Barcelona defender Gerard Pique has admitted it will be “very difficult” for his team to win La Liga after they drew 0-0 with Sevilla on Friday night.
The draw moves Quique Setien’s side three points clear at the top of the table. However, they will lose top spot if Real Madrid beat Real Sociedad on Sunday as Los Blancos have a better head-to-head record.
Pique spoke after the game at the Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan Stadium and was in a pessimistic mood about Barcelona’s chances of retaining their La Liga title, according to Roger Torello at Mundo Deportivo.
“It will be very difficult to win this league, because it does not depend on us. I see it difficult for Real Madrid to lose points, seeing how these two days have gone, it will be difficult.
“It was a very competitive match, the draw leaves us in a position where we do not depend on ourselves for the league, but the feelings have not been bad.
“We have the feeling that we have dropped two points because we have been better than them. We have generated chances but we have not scored.”
Barcelona has little time to rest due to a hectic fixture list. They return to action on Tuesday at home to Athletic and then play away at Celta Vigo four days later.
Sevilla Finally Stop Barcelona Scoring
Friday’s clash at Sevilla always looked to be a tricky test for Barcelona. Julen Lopetegui’s side are third in the table and fighting to qualify for a place in next season’s Champions League.
Barcelona headed south with a good record against Sevilla and with Lionel Messi hoping to net the 700th goal of this career. However, the Andalusians finally managed to keep a clean sheet against the Barca skipper:
0 – Barcelona have failed to score vs Sevilla at Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán for the first time in 16 games played in all competitions with Lionel Messi on the pitch (W9 D5 L2). Covert
Indeed the home side went to great lengths to prevent Messi from finding the back of the net from a free-kick in the first half:
The only way to defend a Messi free kick 👀
Although it’s a disappointing result for Barcelona it does mean the defending champions are unbeaten in their three games since returning to action after a break of three months due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Setien Not Happy With Draw
Barcelona boss Setien was also unhappy after the match but told reporters he thinks both Real Madrid and Barcelona will drop points between now and the end of the season.
“We knew before the restart, it would be difficult to win every game. I am not happy to be taking a point, but it is the lesser of two evils. The reality is the title is no longer dependent on us, that has changed. But, I don’t think Real Madrid will win every game.”
Real Madrid do appear to have the easier title run-in on paper. They head to Real Sociedad next who has had a fine season but are yet to win in their two games since the competition restarted.
Games against Getafe, Athletic and Granada are also likely to test Zinedine Zidane’s side who, like Barcelona, have not been completely convincing in 2019-20.
Barcelona now needs Los Blancos to slip up if they are to retain their title and prevent their fierce rivals from being crowned champions of Spain for the first time since 2017.
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