Barcelona defender, Gerard Pique has fired a warning to Manchester United that Barcelona is looking to wrap up the tie at Old Trafford.
Pique, who used four years at United as a youngster, goes back to Old Trafford this week for the first time since moving back to Barca in 2008.
His words, “I think the PSG tie is a great example,”
“I think [at Old Trafford], PSG played better. In the second half they scored and could have scored more.
“But you can’t leave United alive. If you can beat them [by] scoring a lot of goals, you have to do it. They have a great history and they showed that in Paris, even with a lot of young lads from the academy. It’s a great example for us. We have to be switched on from the first minute until the last.”
“Since I played here, they have always been one of England’s great teams,”
“Obviously, teams have ups and downs and moments of transition but they’re the biggest team in England.
“They consider the Premier League the same as the Champions League here — if not more important — and since the Ferguson era they’ve been the biggest team and will keep on being the biggest team. Things aren’t [going as well at the moment] but I hope they change and quickly they get back on top.
“I spent several years here, between 17 and 21, my first as a professional. I played in good games alongside great players and also had some crazy times off the pitch. I left my family and friends to come here and I returned to Barcelona an adult. It’s a special game for me.”
On training alongside Ole, Pique said, “It was a great experience to train alongside him,”
“He was one of the veterans and he helped me a lot when it came to adapting to the country and the club. I’m happy to see him in charge of Manchester United, he’s done a great job, he’s won lots of games playing much better. It will be tough and I hope we can win.
“I imagine we will have the ball, but we have to try and control their counters. They have strong, quick players on the break: [Romelu] Lukaku and [Marcus] Rashford. We have to be careful on dead balls, corners, free kicks. We have to avoid giving them away or defend them well.”
On the pressure on Barcelona, “Pressure would be if we’d never won it or if this was the only title left for us [to win] this season,”
“That is not the case. We have done things well this season and that’s why we are where we are: [11 points] clear in La Liga, in the Copa del Rey final and in the last eight in Europe.
“Look back and you will see that we have done very well in [all competitions] in recent seasons. So, there’s no pressure. There’s a lot of excitement.”
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