Manchester United vs Barcelona: Gerard Pique explains why they must ‘kill off’ Red Devils in Champions League tie

The centre-back is aware of the threat his former side poses after their shock comeback against Paris Saint-Germain in the last 16

Gerard Pique has called on Barcelona to kill off Manchester United if they get the chance as their history shows they can haunt opponents who do not put them away.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side rallied to stun Paris Saint-Germain in the last 16 despite being heavy underdogs after a 2-0 first leg defeat.

And former United star Pique is wary of the threat posed by the Red Devils if they do not translate their dominance into goals.

“You cannot leave Manchester United alive,” said Pique. “If you can beat them scoring a lot of goals you have to do it because they have a great team and a great history.

“I think the PSG tie is a great example. They have shown in second leg in Paris even though they played with a lot of young lads from the academy they qualified in the last minute. It’s a great example for us.

“We have to be very concentrated from the first minute to the last minute of the tie, and we have to play at our best to qualify.”

Pique also highlighted where Barcelona must put extra focus and how United will try to hurt the Spanish champions.

“I expect a game where we have the ball and they will try and hit us on the counter-attack with fast strong players like (Marcus) Rashford and (Romelu) Lukaku. We have to be on our guard and look out for set-pieces from corners into the box.

“They are an English side and they will try to take advantage of these opportunities. If we are focused we can try and stop them.

Gerard Pique is aware of the threat Man United pose (Getty Images)

“Manchester United since from I was here have always been the biggest team in England. All the big sides go through good times and bad times and there are periods of transition.

“The period of Sir Alex Ferguson was the best one and they’ll continue to be a big side. We hope during this period maybe they’ve not found that special ingredient to bring it back but let’s see.”