He’s played the most minutes of any Barcelona outfield player this season, and though he’s not as quick over the ground as he used to be, Gerard Pique’s performance at the Santiago Bernabeu on Saturday was far from laboured.
Alongside Clement Lenglet, Pique has been a standout for Ernesto Valverde’s side this season, with a 90 minutes against Real Madrid that was surely his crowning glory in 2018/19.
Consistently in the right place at the right time, the centre-back threw himself in the way of everything, broke forward as often as the match situation would allow, silenced the home ground on more than one occasion, and even had the temerity to dribble across his own goal being hotly pursued by Real’s attackers.