ORIOL Romeu made his international debut as Catalonia beat Venezuela last night.

The Saints midfielder played the second half of the 2-1 win in Girona, while Spain and Barcelona legend Gerard Pique started for the Catalans.

Stoke’s Bojan Krkic gave Catalonia the lead early in the second half. Venezuela hit the crossbar three times in the first half and equalised when Roberto Rosales, who was one of those to hit the woodwork, capitalised on a defensive error.

Javi Puado gave the Catalans a memorable victory in the 87th minute.

Pique, 32, came out of international retirement to face the country that beat Lionel Messi’s Argentina on Friday evening.

So did Xavi Hernandez but the 39-year-old was left disappointed when his club, Al Sadd, refused to give him permission to play.

Brighton defender Martin Montoya, Romeu’s former Barca teammate and who will be an opponent on Saturday, played alongside Pique, who was substituted after 51 minutes.

Other La Liga stars missed the international friendly as Real Valladolid, Huesca and Rayo Vallecano refused to release their players.

The clubs insisted it was because they are fighting relegation, rather than for political reasons as tensions mount between the autonomous region in the north-east of the country and the Madrid government following an illegal referendum on independence in October 2017. The Catalan team is not recognised by UEFA or FIFA.