Evening Telegraph (First Edition)
Pique feels a Real gulf
BARCELONA defender Gerard Pique admitted he felt “inferior” to Real Madrid for the first time after his side were humbled by their arch-rivals in the Supercopa de Espana.
Madrid won 2-0 last night to complete a 5-1 aggregate victory, with goals from Marco Asensio and Karim Benzema sealing the win as Zinedine Zidane was able to leave Gareth Bale and Isco on the bench despite the suspension of Cristiano Ronaldo.
Barca, still reeling from the shock departure of Neymar to Paris St Germain, were a long way from their best as they struggled to threaten Madrid — their only goal across the two legs came from t he penalty spot.
It has been a humbling experience for Barcelona, who are now hoping to sign Philippe Coutinho and Ousmane Dembele and restore their swagger.
“This is a long process and there is room for improvement however in the nine years that I have been here, it is the first time I feel inferior to Madrid,” Pique said.
“We are not in the best moment, either as a team or as a club. We must stay as close as possible and keep moving forwards.”
Coach Ernesto Valverde is still settling in to his new job but already has a major task on his hands.
“When you lose and you have the feeling that the opponent has, in some moments, been better, you have to analyse the technical aspects,” he said.
“We wanted to win but it could not be. We have to recover psychologically. We have to adapt because things have changed.”