Barcelona midfielder Riqui Puig supports senior teammate Gerard Pique over his complaints about ref bias in favour of Real Madrid.

Pique declared Barca were unlikely to win the LaLiga this season after their stalemate with Sevilla, hinting he felt Real were benefitting from ref bias.

And after victory over Athletic Bilbao last night, Puig said: "If (Piqué) said it, I think it was for a reason. There's been difficult games and I think there us many games that depend on refereeing decisions. Three points that go to the top..."

Regarding the game, Barça's patience stood out, Puig added: "The key was to keep moving the team and find those spaces inside, which is where the key could be.

"Athletic demands a lot of you physically. At this point we are having trouble picking up the pace but with the minutes we have been better. (Ivan) Rakitic's goal has meant, above all, joy. Because Madrid is squeezing us."