"It's urgent, we are in a critical situation" - Gerard Pique after Barcelona's 2-2 draw against Osasuna

Barcelona have once again dropped La Liga points carelessly after a draw against Osasuna on December 12. The team’s subpar performance prompted leading club figure Gerard Pique to say Barcelona are in a “critical situation”.

Speaking to Movistar after the match, Pique lamented Barcelona’s recent performance and urged the team to return to winning form as soon as possible:

“It’s a shame. I think we played well. We competed well at a difficult ground but we are being undone by set plays at the moment. But coming into the game after what happened in midweek it’s a positive performance, we are not happy about the result obviously. As Xavi said it’s a new era now and that’s what has to begin. We can’t afford to slip away from the top four places. As much ground as we can make up in the next few weeks the better it will be.”

The Blaugrana star also noted that Barcelona’s objective was to pick up important points in the coming games:

“The objective right now is just to think about the next game. We have so many youngsters playing, this is great for the club, right now we have to think about picking up results. The next game at home we have to win, it’s urgent, we are in a critical situation in the league. All we can do is stay together as a team and try to pick up three points.

The 34-year old centre-back also doubled down on the need to improve the team's mentality if they want to start winning games again:

“I think slowly but surely we are going to be improving. We competed today, of course we can play better, we can play much better. What can’t be missing is the right attitude and work rate and we’ve shown that today. It’s an urgent situation. We have to start winning.”

Barcelona took the lead twice, through youngsters Nicolas Gonzalez and Abdessamad Ezzalzoul, but were eventually denied by a late equalizer from Osasuna forward Chimy Avila.

---

It's a psychological issue but also a football one: Xavi Hernandez on Barcelona's struggles

CA Osasuna v FC Barcelona - La Liga Santander

The Barcelona boss slammed his side earlier in the week when Bayern Munich knocked the Blaugrana out of the Champions League. While the draw against Osasuna may upset Xavi Hernandez, the manner in which the Catalan giants were displaced from the continental competition will rightly agitate the Barcelona legend.

Xavi spoke about their shoddy performance against the Bavarian giants, while also noting the importance of establishing a strong mentality within the team:

"We have to hit the reset button and pick the players up. There's a feeling that losing is instilled here now and that cannot be the case. We must demand more dedication and more professionalism. It's a psychological issue but also a football one. There were moments against Bayern when we didn't understand what to do, where the free man was or where the space was."

Barcelona's next challenge will come in La Liga when they host Elche on 18 December.