5 players Barcelona needs to rest sufficiently to achieve the treble this season
As things stand, Barcelona is on track for their third treble in the last 10 years and become the only club in history to accomplish this Herculean achievement.
The side from Catalunya is currently sitting at the top of La Liga with a seven-point lead. Next week, they will play Lyon in the all-important return leg of Champions League round of 16. They are also in the final of the Copa del Rey. After having a really long season, Ernesto Valverde, the Barcelona manager needs to keep his troops fresh for the latter stages of the season to manage playing in all three competitions.
Here is the list of five most important players for Barcelona who need to be taken care till the end of the season.
#5 Gerard Piqué
Since the retirement of Carles Puyol, Barcelona has missed a leader who can fill the void of leadership quality in defense. Though Gerard Piqué struggled in the last two or three seasons but this time he has been colossal in terms of leading the defensive line of the team. He has been vocal whenever needed to organize the defensive structure. His partnership with Clément Lenglet has been crucial for Barcelona’s recent success in the El Clásicos.
The 31-year-old Catalan defender played as many as 3270 minutes for club and country since the start of the World Cup. He averages 4.3 clearances per 90 minutes along with a tackle success rate of 1.2 in every match of the La Liga this season. He has looked rock solid every time he was called in action. After seeing his recent performance former Barcelona technical director, Roberto Fernández lauded him the tag of “The best defender of all time”
With age catching up him, Barcelona needs to rotate Piqué in less important games for the rest of the season in order to keep him fresh and injury-free. Barcelona’s success will depend very much on Piqué's performance at the back and they will need him at the top of his prowess in latter stages of Champions League.