Pique: The least I can do is bring silence to Espanyol's stadium LaLiga - Espanyol 1 - 1 Barcelona Defender criticises the personal insults made against him

After being the target of insulting chants from the Espanyol supporters for much of Sunday's derby match, Gerard Pique insisted that the least he could do was bring silence to RCDE Stadium with his late equalising goal.

Tensions were high from kick-off after the controversy surrounding the veteran's comments about Espanyol following the recent Copa del Rey tie.

"The least I could do was bring silence to the Espanyol fans," he admitted in his post-match interview.

"To say that the club is from Cornella is not disrespectful, it's simply the truth, Espanyol are increasingly uprooted from Barcelona and has a Chinese president.

"They complain about me but don't investigate the insults to my family; players are also people and react accordingly to what happens."

Despite coming in for criticism for his gesture towards the home supporters following his goal, Pique made it abundantly clear that players won't be silent in the face of such abuse.

"Players have a responsibility but there is a limit," he confirmed. "If those who make the decisions don't do anything about it, then we won't stay silent.

"The club and owners should denounce certain things that are said."

The conditions under which the match was played in were far from perfect, the heavy rain combined with a poor pitch made for a less than aesthetically pleasing spectacle, something the former Manchester United defender bemoaned.

"In the second half it was impossible to play football," Pique intimated.

"You couldn't generate any rhythm at all. The draw is a good result and we continue on without losing."