Koeman’s methods questioned!
“The defeat comes in the first 30 minutes. We started badly, with fear, lacking aggression. It seemed we’d gone into the game not to lose rather than to try and control the game. Juve pressed a lot, and we didn’t have control, defensively we were not good. We improved in the second half a lot. We lost the game in the first half-hour.
“As a coach, I try to prepare the game, prepare the team, how they have to go out. Before the game, we spoke about being compact but to do that you have to win your battles. We left a lot of space between the lines… and you can also debate the (Juventus) penalties.”Source | Sport
Ronald Koeman’s strat at Barca, it’s fair to say his time at the club has been warped with ups and downs as the Barcelona’s managers. With inconsistent shows from the team. One day they will play great and the next get thrashed in the league or by Juventus. I think the main issue is the change-up from a 4-3-3 to the 4-2-3-1 formation. Which has left some questioning Ronald’s strategy. Only time can tell if this keeps bubbling up.
And yes, Barcelona is predictable and easy to play against on the 4-2-3-1, with midfield getting hammered and outnumbered. Like I always said, the real game happens only in the midfield section. Don’t forget Spain won 2012 euro only by playing midfielders.
Koeman is well-known for his inflexibility and won’t change his mind. Even Juventus’s manager Andrea Pirlo said in the post-match interview that his team was prepared to create superiority in midfield with 3 against 2. I thought when Ronald Koeman destroyed his defence for their mistakes against Cadiz on Saturday we will see a good pumped up and prove you wrong backline. But we saw an even most unfortunate backline against Juventus.
Only in my last post, I praised Clement Lenglet, and in-game against Juventus, he had a very tough night. He was booked and gave away a penalty for a handball. Lenglet’s substitution did allow Samuel Umtiti to make his first appearance since June, but there are still question marks over his fitness and for a starting spot.
The young prospect from Uruguay, Ronald Araujo also gave away a penalty on his return to action. The Uruguayan was harshly penalized for a challenge on Ronaldo, although both he and Lenglet went missing when Weston McKennie volleyed in Juventus’s second of the night.
Messi goes it alone against Juventus
Along with defensive, the misfiring attack did their job. Antoine Griezmann and Pedri struggled, while Francisco Trincao wasted a rare chance. It was left to Messi to try to find a way past Gianluigi Buffon in the Juventus goal. The Barca captain will probably get criticised for not scoring, on a night when Ronaldo bagged two penalties, but Messi was undoubtedly once again Barca’s biggest threat.
Puig the only positive
The only positive from Tuesday’s loss was Riqui Puig, who came off from the bench. The 21-year-old came on for Pedri and offered the energy, dynamism and spark that had been so desperately lacking in the Barca midfield. Barca fans have, of course, been long calling for Puig to play regularly. Puig has only played three minutes in La Liga so far in 2020-21, with his other three appearances all coming in the Champions League.
Barcelona will have a tough UCL draw
Barcelona had a good 3 point and +11 goal difference, before headed into the match, to end the top of Group G., But they threw that away with a 0-3 defeat from after a miserable showing that means they end up in the 2nd place. Which means a challenging round-16 fixer. The last 16 draw is on Monday with Bayern, Man City, Liverpool, Chelsea, and Dortmund all potential opponents.