The frustration of Gerard Pique and Antoine Griezmann turned into a discussion on the pitch, as Paris Saint-Germain beat Barcelona 4-1 in the Champions League on Tuesday.
Pique, who made his first appearance since suffering a right knee injury in November, yelled at his teammates to “keep the ball longer” as they prepared to defend a corner. Griezmann responded by telling him to calm down.
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“F — ing hell, Grizi,” Piqué fired. “No M ———–. We’re suffering. We’ve been [pinned] back for five minutes. F — hell, we’re running like crazy. “
Griezmann replied, “Don’t call me, m ———–! I also suffer and I’m running like crazy.”
The two relaxed when goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen reminded his teammates of their defensive roles as PSG prepared to play the set.
The argument came just before the break, when the score was still 1-1 after Kylian Mbappe had canceled out Lionel Messi’s penalty.
PSG, and especially Mbappe, slowed down after the break, with the striker completing his hat trick and Moise Kean also at the height, as the Ligue 1 champions took a big step towards quarter-finals. final before returning to Paris on March 10th. The defeat evoked memories of recent European defeats against Rome, Liverpool and Bayern Munich.
Griezmann has returned to France after Barça players took a two-day break after the defeat, causing controversy among local media. When reporters were approached at the airport on Tuesday afternoon, the Barça striker told them it was none of his business.
The defeat against PSG leaves Barça on the verge of a second consecutive season without trophies. They are eight points behind Atletico Madrid in the league, having played one more game and a 2-0 win over Sevilla in the Copa del Rey semi-final.
Despite this, coach Ronald Koeman said it was “crazy” to suggest that he should consider leaving the post and reminded fans that it would take time to see the benefits of the changes Barça is experiencing.
“We’re missing things, sure, but I had never thought before that this game we didn’t,” he said. “It’s not the end of the road. It seems like I’m more realistic than everyone else.”
Koeman’s comments came on the same day that former Al-Sadd coach Xavi Hernandez, Qatar’s coach, reiterated his desire to take over at the Camp Nou in the future.
“One day everyone sees me as a Barça coach,” said Xavi. “I have a lot of respect for Barça and I also have respect for Koeman, the current coach.
“But I hope so [to return as coach]. I will not hide it, but with respect for the current management team of the club, which is in the center [three] competitions, and I wish them all the best. “
A new president will be elected to the Camp Nou on March 7 and, depending on the results, he could decide to appoint his own coach.
“We will see who comes in as president next month,” Xavi added. “But, of course, it’s a dream to coach Barça. There’s no doubt about it.”