Gerard Pique has leapt to the defence of Philippe Coutinho after the playmaker was jeered by Barcelona fans during their 3-1 win over Rayo Vallecano on Saturday.
Coutinho started the victory at the Camp Nou but was substituted to a chorus of whistles by the home fans in the final 10 minutes.
Why did Barca fans jeer Coutinho? Five key things to know…
- Coutinho joined Barcelona for £146m from Liverpool in January 2018.
- The Brazilian hasn’t quite hit the heights of his Liverpool days, so far failing to meet the demands of his high transfer fee.
- Coutinho has only scored three goals since October and just eight all season.
- A number of Premier League clubs have been linked with a move for the Barca man.
- However, Pique has now backed his teammate to transform his fortunes in Catalonia.
The Brazilian has struggled to match the expectations that followed him to Catalonia, due to the astronomical fee Barca couriered to Merseyside to land him.
Despite this, Pique – who opened the scoring against the capital club on Saturday – has come out in support of the diminutive No.7, saying the club “need” his playmaker expertise.
“We have to accept the reaction of the fans – but from the inside, we have to give him our support,” said Pique.
“Philippe is having a good season. Obviously, his cost was very high so that means there are more expectations of his performance level. It is what it is.
“We need him at his best for the end of the season and I’m sure he will be.”
Coutinho failed to make a single key pass and completed just one successful dribble against Rayo Vallecano, as Ernesto Valverde’s men came from behind to secure three points, taking the club seven clear atop La Liga.
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Where has it gone wrong for Coutinho?
Coutinho is clearly suffering from a lack of confidence, having not found the back of the net since January – certainly worrying times for the former Liverpool man.
The pint-sized attacker squandered a glorious opportunity to break the deadlock against Los Franjirrojos on Saturday; a bread and butter opportunity during his Anfield days.
So, why has it gone wrong for Coutinho? Well, being at a club that possesses so many world-class attacking players, it was always going to be a tall order for Coutinho to transition from talisman at one club, to subordinate player at another.
Not only that, Jurgen Klopp often tweaked his Liverpool system to best accentuate the assets of Coutinho, deploying a formation that allowed the No 10 to play just behind the striker, arguably Coutinho’s best role.
With Valverde under no such compromising terms, Coutinho has often been shuffled around the pitch, predominantly playing in central midfield and left wing, which has left him struggling for consistency.
These are certainly troubling times for Coutinho, but he has bags of ability and with Pique now jumping to his defence, fortunes could yet change.
The post Pique backs Coutinho after Barcelona crowd jeers – “We need him” appeared first on Squawka News.
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