LALIGA
Pique pokes fun at 'Espanyol de Cornella' after Copa victory
Barcelona defender offered Espanyol a cheekily reworked moniker after Ernesto Valverde's side beat their city rivals in the Copa del Rey.
Gerard Pique poked fun at Espanyol after Barcelona's Copa del Rey quarter-final second leg, suggesting Quique Sanchez Flores' side should not be classed as their city rivals.
After losing the first leg 1-0 at the RCDE Stadium on January 17, Barca turned the tie around on Thursday with a 2-0 victory courtesy of goals from Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi.
Ernesto Valverde's men now face Valencia in the semi-final stage of the 2017/18 competition.
And Pique could not resist a jibe at their Catalan rivals as Barca celebrated progression at Camp Nou, naming them Espanyol de Cornella – a suburb of the Barcelona metropolitan area - rather than Espanyol de Barcelona.
"It isn't that we suffered so much in this game, but Espanyol de Cornella always make it difficult for us," he said, as quoted by Spanish outlets. "We started very well with the two goals and it is a result that pleases us."
Espanyol later responded and claimed that they would report Pique's inflammatory comments to the Anti-violence commission .