Gerard Piqué has stoked the flames ahead of Barcelona’s second-leg clash with Atlético Madrid, issuing a vocal show of support for young defender Pau Kubarsi after the first-leg Champions League quarter-final.
Koparsy had accepted blame for Barcelona’s 2-0 defeat after his red card left the Catalans a man down for much of the contest.
After the match, Kubarsi expressed his regret via his Instagram account, emphasising that he took full responsibility for what had happened, saying: “A single moment can change the course of the match and the result; that’s football. I take responsibility for what happened, but we still have a second leg to play in this two-legged tie. We are more united than ever; we are one family, and we have always shown that. We will keep fighting with all our strength and determination, and we will not give up.”
The decisive moment arrived in the 42nd minute, when referee István Kovács brandished a straight red card after Kobarsi’s challenge on Giuliano Simeone, forcing Barcelona to finish the match a man down.
Atlético Madrid capitalised on the numerical advantage, with Julián Álvarez opening the scoring from the resulting free-kick and later adding a second to put Barcelona in a precarious position ahead of the return fixture.
His post earned swift backing from the Barcelona dressing room, with Pedri writing “Together, Kopa” and Dani Olmo, Ronald Araujo and Marc Bernal also offering their support.
Former Barcelona centre-back Gerard Piqué, who played for the club from 2008 to 2022, added a defiant message that drew widespread attention: “Hold your head high, you’re a legend… You’ll crush them in the second leg.”
His defiant message angered Atlético supporters, who saw it as needlessly provocative, ramping up the narrative ahead of the second leg, when Barcelona will aim to overturn the deficit, as reported by AS.