Gerard Pique suffers brain-fade moment vs Inter Milan, gets booed by Barca crowd: WATCH

Spanish footballer Gerard Pique is making headlines for a bizarre incident that gifted Inter Milan a goal during the UEFA Champions League 2022-23 match on Wednesday night between Barcelona and Inter Milan. The highly anticipated ended in a 3-3 draw, as Robert Lewandowski scored a brace to barely keep Barcelona alive in the Champions League. However, the brain fade moment involving Pique became the biggest talking point of the day.

Barcelona vs Inter Milan: Gerard Pique's costly error

The 35-year-old made a costly error in the 50th minute of the match, which resulted in Inter opening their scoresheet in the match. With his hands in the air, Pique let the ball go over his head after apparently not realizing Nicola Barella was behind him. The veteran defender was brutally booed by some fans at Camp Nou and was later criticized heavily by fans on social media too.

‘You pay a high price for each error you make’: Barcelona coach Xavi Hernandez

As reported by Daily Mail, Barcelona coach Xavi Hernandez shed his thoughts on the brain fade moment after the match. Xavi termed it a clear mistake and admitted it could cost them a place in the Champions League.“This is the Champions League and you pay a high price for each error you make. You need to win, to defend well, to score. We needed to play the entire game like we did in the first half. That intensity. Now it's hard because we are not in control anymore,” Xavi added.

Barcelona’s fate in the Champions League is now in the hands of Inter Milan

With the draw, Barcelona find themselves placed third in the Group C with four points, three behind second-place Inter. Bayern Munich are placed at the top of the table with 12 points, following its 4-2 win against Viktoria Plzen. If Inter manage to win their next game against Viktoria Plzen, Barcelona will be relegated to the UEFA Europa League next season. 

Barcelona’s fate in the Champions League now is in the hands of Inter Milan, who will face last-place Plzen in Italy, before playing their last league game against Bayern Munich. If Barcelona fail to qualify for the UCL knockouts, it will be the first time since 1999 that the Camp Nou-based team will not advance to the knockout stage in consecutive years. Barcelona face Bayern Munich in their next league game on October 27.