Barcelona News: Gerard Pique helps Blaugrana win their first 2021-22 Champions League game

Barcelona 1-0 Dynamo Kyiv

Barcelona were under huge pressure when hosting Dynamo Kyiv. They had the worst ever start in 2021-22 Champions League when losing the first two matches to Bayern Munich and Benfica with the same 0-3 score. 

Dynamo Kyiv is considered the weakest team in Group E so that this game is a good opportunity for Ronald Koeman’s players to find their first win this season. In the past, the Ukrainian club was also the favorite victim of the Catalunya giant when the Spain club have won the lastest 4 games over Dynamo. In the previous Champions League season, Barca had a 4-0 away win and 2-1 home win against Dynamo. 

Barcelona 1-0 Dynamo

At 17:10 BST on Wednesday 20 October, the match of Barcelona vs Dynamo Kyiv officially took place at Camp Nou stadium. The home team rapidly controlled the game. Barca kept the ball up to 63%, shot 11 times, and had 3 goals on target. Whereas, the statistics of Dynamo were 37%, 3, and 0 in turn. However, Blaugrana could score only one goal thanks to the in-time shining of center-back Gerard Pique. In the 36th minute, Jordi Alba crossed the ball through over the visiting team’s defenders. The ball line found Pique’s position. The Spaniard immediately leaned forward to finish in a narrow corner and beat Dynamo’s goalkeeper Buschan. 

Manager Koeman took many fans by surprise when let the young talent Ansu Fati in the substitutes and start with Luuk De Jong whose performance has never been highly appreciated since he came to Camp Nou the past summer. Luuk De Jong missed many chances and was substituted in the second half. Barca’s playing style, though, was more diverse, they still could not find another goal when their target goals were denied by the goal’s bar. 

Until the last minute, Barca preserved their 1-0 score to win their first Champions League game and gain complete 3 points. At the moment, Blaugrana have had 3 points, ranking third in Group E. Bayern Munich has 3 perfect wins to stand at the top with 9 points. Benfica rank second with 4 points and Dynamo Kyiv have 1 point after 3 games. 

Gerard Pique scored the only goal in the match

Pique is a defender but his scoring ability can not be underestimated. Barcelona won all 14 Champions League matches that Pique scored, which is an achievement that no player has touched. 

Pique is the highest scoring defender in Champions League

Gerard Pique, at the age of 34 years and 260 days, became the oldest Barca player to score in the Champions League competition, surpassing Sylvinho with 34 years and 241 days in the game against Shakhtar Donetsk in December 2008. Moreover, Pique became the highest-scoring defender in the Champions League’s history with 16 goals, equal to Roberto Carlos. 

In this game, the 34-year-old defender played dynamically. He caught the goalscoring opportunity well and also defenced firmly. According to the 90min.com ranking, he got 8/10 points, which was only less than Jordi Alba’s performance. However, his goal in the first half was wonderful. That awoke the whole team’s spirit to play more enthusiastically and tenaciously. 

What to know about Gerard Pique?

1. Who is Gerard Pique?

• Gerard Pique full name: Gerard Piqué Bernabeu
• Gerard Pique age: 34 ( DoB: 2 February 1987)
• Gerard Pique PoB: Barcelona, Spain
• Gerard Pique height: 6 ft 4 in
• Gerard Pique position: Centre-back
• Current club: Barcelona
• Gerard Pique number: 3

Pique is a Spanish professional football player. He plays as a center-back for Barcelona in La Liga. Pique is one of the best defenders of his generation and is one of the longest-serving players for FC Barcelona. Pique has won a lot of prestigious titles with the Catalunya giant and has been one of the players who can not be replaced in the club. 

Gerard Pique Barcelona

2. Pique’s Career

3. Pique’s Personal life

Gerard Pique wife was a famous Colombian singer-songwriter, Shakira. The couple share the same birthday and have 2 children although they have not officially gotten married. 

Gerard Piqué Shakira

Apart from being a great player, Pique is also a successful businessman. He is the founder and CEO of Kosmos Holding, which has agreed to a 25-year, $3 billion deal with the International Tennis Federation that will revolutionize the Davis Cup and create significant revenue for worldwide tennis development.

Piqué purchased the Spanish football team FC Andorra in Segunda División B in December 2018 through his company Kosmos Holding. He then purchased a majority share in Gimnàstic Manresa, another Spanish football club, in July 2019.

Piqué invested in the fantasy football game Sorare in December 2020. In a partnership with streamer Ibai Llanos, Kosmos has also purchased the Spanish broadcasting rights for the Copa América 2021.

Gerard Pique is a successful businessman

Reference Sources

• fcbarcelona.com
• uefa.com
• 90min.com
• wikipedia