MX23RW : Monday, September 3 09:08:25

Gerard Pique: 'Barcelona cannot just focus on Champions League'

Pique: 'Barcelona can't just focus on CL'
© Reuters
Gerard Pique insists that Barcelona will not prioritise winning the Champions League this season, having been knocked out in the quarters three years running.

Barcelona defender Gerard Pique has said that it "would be suicide" to focus solely on winning the Champions League this season.

The Catalan giants have been eliminated at the quarter-final stage of UEFA's showpiece tournament three years in a row since going all the way in 2014-15.

Barca have lifted the La Liga title in three of the last four years, but long-serving centre-back Pique insists that it is not a case of prioritising one competition over another.

"I guess it is the most important title there is for the great teams in Europe," he told reporters. "[But] just to [try to] win the Champions League would be suicide. If we focus on the league more, that is the barometer which we rely on to know how good we are.

"Barca have never won the Champions League without La Liga, so let's focus on the league and win the Champions League too. Nothing is missing from the game of Barca. Our way of playing makes us very strong in regular competition, where many games are played, as opposed to a final, where everything can be decided by a shot or cross.

"There are teams that base everything on the counter and it can come good, but it is different to play La Liga and the Champions League. It has been proven that, if we work very well in the league, we are doing well in Europe. When we play at the same level [to opponents], we suffer, and when we are very superior, we are better."

Atletico Madrid, Juventus and most recently Roma knocked Barca out of the Champions League in 2016, 2017 and 2018 respectively.

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Ernesto Valverde in charge of Barcelona on May 6, 2018
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Tables
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Barcelona3300122109
2Real Madrid330010289
3Celta Vigo32105237
4Athletic Bilbao31204315
5Sevilla31114224
6Espanyol21103124
7Real Sociedad31115504
8Getafe31112204
9Atletico MadridAtletico311123-14
10GironaGirona311124-24
11Real Betis311113-24
12Huesca3111611-54
13Levante21014223
14EibarEibar310235-23
15Real Valladolid302101-12
16Valencia201113-21
17Villarreal301213-21
18AlavesAlaves201103-31
19Leganes301248-41
20Rayo Vallecano301215-41

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