admin
BARCELONA. — Fifty four crosses, in one dreadful game, Barca are now playing like Stoke City.
Ronald Koeman has insisted his Barcelona team do not have the players to execute their trademark tiki-taka passing game, while refusing to be drawn on speculation over his future at the club. His side currently sit seventh in the table, on eight points, having drawn two of their opening four games.
On Monday night, against Granada, they were only saved from a shock defeat by an injury-time header from centre-back Ronald Araujo, playing as a makeshift striker.
“I’m not going to talk about my future anymore”, the 58-year-old manager said.
“We’re unhappy because we want to win games, especially at home, but as I explained, the game was complicated and I think we gave our all on the pitch.” Barca are enduring something of an injury crisis, with players such as Sergio Aguero, Pedri, Jordi Alba, and Martin Braithwaite all out. This has changed the tactics of the Catalan club. Koeman explained: “We had to sacrifice our style of play a little bit to try and get the result, by putting crosses in rather than playing down the middle. If you look at the squad list for the game, it’s the only thing we could do.
“We can’t play tiki-taka if there aren’t any spaces. So that means we have to try and find another way to play. For me that’s what has to be talked about, the fact that we tried everything to get a point.
“We know it’s maybe not Barcelona’s football, but this Barcelona is not that of eight years ago.” Gerard Pique had also been thrown into attack for the final 20 minutes as they desperately searched for a goal. Barcelona made 54 crosses in total, their second-highest tally in a single La Liga game since at least 2005/06.
“We changed our style a little bit,” Koeman said after the result, which leaves them in seventh place on eight points, five behind leaders Real Madrid who have played a game more. — SkySports/The Athletic
Online Reporter