Pique headed in a Lionel Messi cross as Barcelona edged past Apoel Nicosia 1-0 in their opening match of the new Champions League campaign.
Barcelona dominated possession but the star-studded team found it difficult to convert this into goals. The Nicosia keeper, Urko Pardo, made a couple of great saves to deny Messi but apart from that there were few clear-cut scoring chances.
Athletic Bilbao, meanwhile, played out a 0-0 draw with Shaktar Donetsk.