‘Have you seen the selection list? What are we going to do then? Playing Tiki Taka?’

Tuesday, September 21, 2021 at 06:56• Yanick Vos

The pressure on Ronald Koeman’s shoulders as Barcelona manager has increased further after Monday night’s 1-1 draw against Granada. Only just before time did Ronald Araújo prevent a defeat in the Camp Nou with a striking header. Afterwards, Koeman indicated that he no longer wanted to talk about his future and bit off after a critical question.

Granada had a dream start in Barcelona and gave Koeman a headache after just 85 seconds. Sergio Escudero had a measured pass from the left to Duarte, who was completely released at the far post and was able to nod in through the ground: 0-1. Granada then parked the bus and the visitors did everything they could to disrupt Barcelona’s game. Referee Santiago Jaime Latre hardly acted against Granada’s time wasting and that led to irritation at Koeman. “From the second minute, Granada has stalled time with throw-ins, with injuries… And the arbiter only added four minutes. We lose so much time for things like this… That makes the game more difficult.”

After the break, Koeman brought in Luuk de Jong. Later in the match, the trainer also had Gerard Pique come in as attacker, while Araújo also frequently reported in the front in the final phase. Araújo finally scored in the ninetieth minute from a pass by Gavi. “An extraordinary player”, is how Koeman describes the Uruguayan. “We really need him in this team, especially in situations like this.” With high crosses from the flanks, Barcelona managed to avoid a defeat. “You always have to play according to your own style, but if the game calls for a change, you have to apply it. I think we did that well,” said Koeman, who received a yellow card from the referee in the final phase when he protested against Granada’s many time wasting.

Barcelona had to do without Ansu Fati and Ousmane Dembélé. According to Koeman, their absence is the reason that the 4-3-3 system was not reflected well against Granada. “We had no speed on the wings,” continued the trainer, who after a new point loss with Barcelona can be found in seventh place in the ranking with eight points. They are five points behind leaders Real Madrid. “Is my position in danger? I don’t talk about my future anymore,” said Koeman, who came under fire after the hopeless 0-3 defeat in the group stage of the Champions League against Bayern Munich.

“People are dissatisfied with the result, but I don’t think they are complaining about the effort. We have done our best with what is available. With a bit of luck we would have won”, said Koeman, who was asked about the introduction of Luuk de Jong, after which Barcelona often used the long ball. “Have you seen the selection list? What are we going to do then? Playing Tiki Taka? We did what had to be done. If the competition calls for change, then you have to do it. This is not the Barcelona of eight years ago.”