After the loss tonight I think that it’s inevitable that Ronald Koeman will lose his job. No way I can see him staying in the bench for another game. However, due to the close international break, They might wait with appointing the new coach until next week. But Barcelona losing for the first time vs Benfica since 1961, is just another record that Ronald Koeman breaks in his coaching career here. And make no mistake about it – The coach is the main person to blame for the loss tonight. And it started with Koeman’s statements before the match.
Like I said after the loss vs Bayern – This isn’t Southampton. You can’t have such a loser mentality when you lead a team that wants to fight for all titles. Moreover, you can’t have 0 shots on target after 2 UCL games. Therefore, a change must arrive, and soon.
Another Tactical Disasterclass
The starting lineup was a clue to what this game was heading for. Starting with 3-5-2 formation, the same players that crushed vs Bayern, and benching the players with mumentum – it’s like a tactical suicide. And it took Benfica only 2 minutes to score.
However, in the 31th minute, Koeman took his bad decision and made it even worse. Until that moment, Barcelona were chasing Benfica, but couldn’t convert their chances. Moreover, one of the most dangerous players on the field was Frenkie de Jong.
Koeman decided to sub off Pique and bring Gavi in, which was a good decision because Pique had a yellow card. But then, Koeman took Frenkie and put him in the defence. He actually took our best player tonight, and made him a defender.
From that point, Barcelona tried to chase Benfica without having any player to play between the lines (hmm…remember Riqui?). Pedri and Gavi couldn’t do it tonight, and Gavi was lost in the right side. What worked vs Levante wouldn’t work everyday.
Bottom line
Looks like Koeman is about to break another record, and become the first coach Laporta sacks mid-season.
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