Piqué: Barcelona won 5-1 when Real Madrid had extra day's rest

Gerard Piqué has responded to Real Madrid's complaints that Barcelona will have an extra day's rest before the sides' Copa del Rey semi-final second leg on Wednesday, reminding Los Blancos of what happened when they went into October's Clásico at the Camp Nou having had longer to recover.

Speaking after a Lionel Messi-inspired 4-2 LaLiga victory at Sevilla on Saturday afternoon, Piqué also urged leaders Barça to "send out a statement" in their pursuit of the Spanish championship when they again face Madrid, this time in the league, three days after their Copa clash.

Copa-LaLiga Clásico double header:

"We're desperate to reach the cup final, so first of all we've got to focus on that; after that, our aim will be to send out a statement at the top of the table."

Madrid unhappy about recovery time before Copa clash:

"When we played in LaLiga they'd had an extra day's rest, and we beat them 5-1. I know they're going to be bang up for it, and we'll do everything we can to make the final."

Can you sew up LaLiga in next Saturday's Clásico?

"I don't know about that, but we'd certainly send out a real statement if we beat them."

Barcelona's recent form:

"Every game is difficult. We're not playing our best football, but we're still alive on every front. It was vital that we won here. We came into the game off the back of performances that were good defensively, but not so good going forward. We can play better, though."

Managing without Messi:

"We have to focus on the fact that we do have Messi, and that on Wednesday he'll be playing at the Bernabéu. The glass so often seems to be half empty for us Catalans. Messi had a fantastic game, scored three goals, and set up another."