Barcelona boss Pep Guardiola insists that centre back Gerard Pique is very much a key player for the Barca despite being left out of the match squad in last night’s Champions League game were they won 3-1 win against Bayer Leverkusen.
The Spanish international did not even get a place on the bench for the first leg of Barca’s round of 16 tie with the Germans, but coach Guardiola stressed that him being left out had nothing to do with his below par display’s in recent weeks.
Instead, Guardiola has stated that Pique was rested ahead of this weekend’s Primera Division clash at home against Valencia.
“On Saturday we don’t have [Javier] Mascherano or (Dani) Alves, so I couldn’t afford to lose Gerard,” Guardiola said during the post-match press conference.
“I called up (Marc) Bartra because we needed him and I wanted him to be on the bench. Pique knows that I have lots of love for him. For us, he’s untouchable.”
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