Pique’s recovery, in his own words, is going “better than expected”

While Barcelona have looked like a jumble of problems throughout the course of the season, it is easy to pinpoint and say unforced errors from the heart of the defence are costing the team severely. All but one of the senior team centre-backs (Gerard Pique, Clement Lenglet, Ronald Araujo, and Samuel Umtiti) have made errors directly leading to a goal. The one who has not is third-choice captain Gerard Pique.

Pique was not enjoying the best of seasons, but he looked sharp enough in most games that he played and was still the beating heart of the backline. However, after picking up an injury against Atletico Madrid early on the season, the Spaniard was ruled out for several months, eventually deciding against surgery given at 34, he is at the last juncture of his career.

Fast forward more than two months, Pique has returned to training, and there is a good chance that he can return to the pitch just in time for the clash against Paris Saint-Germain in February. Speaking to Ibai Llanos, Pique talked about several things, including former-president Josep Bartomeu, PSG, and most importantly, his recovery: “The truth is that it is better than what I expected at this time. I still need to run and get used to it, but it is going well.”

He also talked about the encounter against PSG, given it is Barcelona’s toughest game of the season, facing last year’s finalists. “Tough match against PSG? To win the Champions League, you have to beat the best.”

Ronald Araujo has stepped up his game in the absence of Pique, and has become one of the breakthrough players of the year alongside his colleague Pedri. However, the defence seems to lack a leader, something that will be desperately needed against Paris Saint-Germain against the likes of Neymar Jr, Kylian Mbappe, and Angel di Maria.