Gerard Pique: 'Difficult' for Barcelona to Win Champions League at Current Level
Barcelona defender Gerard Pique has said the team will struggle to be challengers for the UEFA Champions League this season if they do not improve their performance levels.
Pique was speaking after the Blaugrana were held to a disappointing 0-0 draw by Slavia Prague at the Camp Nou on Tuesday, adding another chapter to what has been a difficult season for the team so far.
Barcelona still have eight points and top Group F, but they face Borussia Dortmund and Inter Milan—who are one point and four points behind them, respectively—in their final two group games. Speaking about their display, Pique said big improvements are needed, per Marca:
"We are not playing as we want, but in both La Liga and Champions League we are in a good situation in the table.
"The results are not bad, they could be better, but we must keep calm and improve. Playing at this level, it is difficult for us to win the Champions League. We have had other spells where we were not playing very well, for example under Luis Enrique and then we ended up doing the treble."
Here are the highlights from Tuesday's match, as Barcelona failed to take advantage of their opponents' attacking approach at the Camp Nou:
"[Slavia] tried to play a game that suited us," continued Pique. "We have had chances, but the ball didn't want to enter [the goal]. The results have not helped us out in these last few games, and when you chain two games together without winning at Barcelona, people want more as there are high demands."
Per The Spanish Football Podcast, the Catalan press were critical of the team's performance in Tuesday's stalemate:
As relayed by OptaJoe, it's been a long time since the team didn't find the net on home soil:
Barcelona sit top of La Liga and top of their Champions League group. Nevertheless, they are a team with significant issues at the moment.
Not only do they continue to lean heavily on the brilliance of Lionel Messi, they are also lacking a balance in the rest of the attack, stability in midfield and a settled defence. Against limited opposition in Slavia on Tuesday, there was never any sense of the Blaugrana building a sustained attack.
Unsurprisingly, manager Ernesto Valverde has faced more criticism in the aftermath of the draw, with Spanish football writer David Cartlidge noting the team lacks an identity:
After this draw and the loss to Levante in La Liga on Saturday, the pressure is beginning to build on Valverde and his players. It makes the upcoming meeting with Celta Vigo an important one for the team.
Even so, Barcelona appear to be a long way off challenging for Champions League glory at the moment, and you sense a dramatic change is required if they are to be a force in the knockout stages this term.
