Pique not worried about defence

As Gerard Pique made a return from injury in Barcelona's 4-2 win over Mallorca, he insisted the team are not worried about their poor defending in the game.

Barcelona were nearly given a fright after two goals in four second-half minutes brought Mallorca to within a goal of levelling the scoreline. Luckily for Barca, Alexis Sanchez and Lionel Messi combined superbly to score the fourth goal in the 70th minute to effectively wrap up the game.

However, their defensive mistakes have been a source of concern this season as the Catalans have not been too solid at the back. The enforced absence of the likes of Carles Puyol and Pique through injury has led to coach Tito Vilanova employing several different defensive pairings.

Just last week, a resolute Celtic attack managed to intimidate the makeshift defenders and secure a historic 2-1 win in the Champions League. But Pique, returning after missing six league games, is happy with the setup and pointed out that Mallorca only managed to score goals through set-pieces.

Michael Pereira did well to sneak into the box to score off a Alejandro Alfaro cross for Mallorca's first while Victor scored a penalty a short while later after Sergio Busquets was adjudged to have committed a handball inside the penalty box.

"I felt great physically, I was very comfortable on the pitch," Pique told the club website.

"In general, we played well and we were the superior side, even though the opening 15 minutes were difficult."

"Seeing that our style of play is based on attacking it's more difficult to defend, but the goals scored by Mallorca came from two isolated plays."

"[Messi's second goal] was good for us because we couldn't be calm being only one goal up."

Cesc Fabregas agreed with the defender's analysis as he said, "Mallorca scored their goals through isolated plays: a defensive error and a penalty. These things happen."

"The team's reaction was positive and we managed to score the fourth goal without letting our nerves get the best of us."

"We hope none of the players pick up injuries during the international break. These matches aren't optimal, but we have to be professionals."

On the other hand, coach Tito Vilanova is worried that Barca's opponents are capable of punishing the slightest of mistakes and felt that Mallorca should not have managed to fight back after his side were ahead by three goals at half-time.

 "[We] are going through a moment where the smallest errors lead to conceding a goal," he said.

"[They] are scoring a lot of goals without too much effort ... the smallest error leads to a goal."

"Perhaps the match called for a Mallorca goal, but not two."

The Blaugrana next host Real Zaragoza on Saturday and currently boast a three-point lead over nearest challengers Atletico Madrid.