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Barcelona center-back Gerard Pique is making good progress in his recovery from a serious knee injury and could make his return in the Champions League last-16 clash with Paris Saint-Germain.
The 33-year-old has been out of action since hobbling off in Barcelona’s 1-0 La Liga defeat to Atletico Madrid in November. Pique has missed Barca’s last six matches in all competitions and is not expected back for several months.
According to Catalunya Radio, the defender is currently feeling great, is “very happy” with his recovery work and could make the second leg against Paris Saint-Germain. The match is scheduled for March 11 at the Parc des Princes.
🏆 @ChampionsLeague Last 16 MATCHDAYS CONFIRMED!
1️⃣st leg:
⚽ #BarçaPSG
📍 Camp Nou
🗓 February 16
2️⃣nd leg:
⚽ #PSGBarça
📍 Parc des Princes
🗓 March 10
Pique has opted for conservative treatment rather then undergo surgery which could have ruled him out for the rest of the season, as reported by Football Espana.
Youngsters Oscar Mingueza and Ronald Araujo have both filled in during Pique’s absence, but there’s no doubt Barca would be boosted if the veteran center-back were to be fit and available for the second-leg tie.
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Pique Watches Barcelona Beat Levante
Pique was back at the Camp Nou on Sunday to watch his team pick up a much-needed three points in La Liga against Levante. The defender was spotted in the stands as Barca bounced back from defeats to Cadiz and Juventus with a 1-0 win.
Image: Piqué in the stands at the Camp Nou stadium.
Lionel Messi scored the only goal of the game, while Araujo impressed in defense as Barca picked up a clean sheet. The win sees Barca cut the gap to leaders Real Sociedad to nine points ahead of Wednesday’s meeting with Imanol Alguacil’s men on Wednesday at the Camp Nou.
Alba Hails Defensive Improvements
Left-back Jordi Alba hailed Barca’s defensive improvements after the win over Levante. The backline has come under scrutiny this season after a series of high-profile errors.
This season Barcelona have dropped 11 points away from home conceding the following five goals:
– Penalty conceded by de Jong at Getafe
– Error by Neto at Alavés
– Error by ter Stegen at Atlético
– Error by Mingueza at Cádiz
– Error by Lenglet/Alba at Cádiz
Alba told Movistar it was a much-improved showing from his team after a tough week both at home and in Europe, as reported by Sport.
Defensively, we were much much better than in other games and we created chances in attack. In the end we scored one of them and got three points. We played well and showed responsibility. We have dropped points shouldn’t have but the league is open. This year, different teams are up there and it’s important for the level in the league, there’s a good level in the league, and we are trying to stay up the top.
Barca’s defense will face much toughter tests this season, particularly against a PSG team packed full of attacking talent. Neymar is the joint-top scorer in the Champions League this season with six goals, while Kylian Mbappe has struck 10 times in 10 Ligue 1 appearances in 2020-21.
Coach Thomas Tuchel also has players such as Mauro Icardi, Angel di Maria, Moise Kean, and Marco Verratti to call on and will be hoping his team can go one better than last season when they were beaten 1-0 in the final of the Champions League by Bayern Munich.
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