Barcelona vs Real Madrid: Pique admits club is still reeling from previous El Clasico losses

FC Barcelona veteran Gerard Pique is boldly issuing a warning to Real Madrid CF ahead of the first El Clasico of the year, which is scheduled to take place on Wednesday in Saudi Arabia. Barcelona will be facing Real Madrid in the semi-finals of the Supercopa de Espana, and Pique thinks they can exact revenge after losing against their bitter rivals in their past four encounters.

The two sides last faced each other in October last year, with Real Madrid claiming the 2-1 victory. The loss was a complete humiliation for Barcelona, and it resulted in the sacking of then-manager Ronald Koeman. Former midfielder Xavi Hernandez has since taken over as manager, and Pique thinks they have what it takes to manufacture a different result.

On top of that, he made it clear that he is still bitter from the previous loss. "It was unfair that they took all three points," Pique said, in an interview quoted by Marca. "I remember an action by [Sergino] Dest - and they went ahead the first time they got forward. We were more affected, but circumstances have changed," he added.

Pique showed confidence and said that "it's a title and we'll all fight for it equally, as we have shown in the past." However, he also admitted that he is under no illusion that it won't be difficult.

He pointed out Real Madrid's midfield trio of Toni Kroos, Luka Modric and Casemiro, saying that they "know each other very well" and have a good track history over the years. On top of that, he also mentioned the attacking duo of Karim Benzema and Vinicius Junior, who are the top two goalscorers in La Liga at the moment.

"Behind them is a team that defends well, that is comfortable without the ball and they base everything on transitions by Vinicius or the midfielders come together so that Benzema receives the ball... It has been the same base for years. We know them well, they are of a high level but I believe we can hurt them," he concluded.