The Catalan defender believes the club can come good after two underwhelming performances

Gerard Pique has called on Barcelona fans to be patient with the side after they were held to a disappointing 0-0 Champions League draw with Slavia Prague on Tuesday at Camp Nou. 

The result comes just days after the Catalans were handed a 3-1 loss in La Liga against Levante with pressure beginning to mount on coach Ernesto Valverde. 

While the club stills sits top of La Liga and their Champions League group, Barca’s style of football has frustrated fans with Pique adamant they can find their feet again if given time. 

“I would ask for a little patience,” Pique told Movistar after the game. “I know the fans want more, we understand that, but we’re working hard to find the solutions. Not so much in terms of results, but in terms of how we’re playing.

“Everyone has their own opinion. I’ve spent a lot of time here now and when the supporters expect things to go better and they don’t, there is some criticism.

“We [the players] are trying to resolve these situations as quickly as possible. We have to keep cool heads. I think we are in a good position. We’re top of La Liga and our Champions League group. We’re not playing as well as we expect. The results aren’t bad, but they could be better. We do have to improve.”

Having tasted success so often with Barcelona, Pique suggested the club don’t have to be at their free-flowing best to still collect silverware at season’s end. 

“It’s difficult to say right now but there have been times when we’ve not looked good in the past and we’ve ended up winning trophies,” he said. 

“With Luis Enrique, it looked like things weren’t working for the first six months and then we won the treble.”

Valverde accepted fans were within their right to jeer his side after their performance on Tuesday but backed them to turn their form around. 

“The other day we lost against Levante and it does not escape us that the last two have not been our best matches,” Valverde told Movistar. 

“We know there is a lot of pressure on the team and we have to respond. In football, everything happens very fast. 

“Three days ago we were in a great moment and three days later it seems that we have entered a pothole. But that means that in three days we can turn it around.”