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Pique stands up for Spain team-mate Pedro

The Chelsea winger complained about a lack of first-team opportunities at international level after featuring only late on against the Czech Republic thus far in France

Gerard Pique has come out in defence of Spain international team-mate Pedro after the Chelsea attacker vented his frustrations about being a bit-part player at Euro 2016.

Pedro came off the bench late in Spain's 1-0 win over the Czech Republic in their tournament opener, but was an unused substitute as the two-time defending European champions defeated Turkey 3-0 on Friday.

The former Barcelona winger said he had "other expectations" when he arrived in France, but later apologised to the media and team-mates for his outburst, before Vicente Del Bosque confirmed that he would not be punished for his statements.