The Spanish media are tough on Ronald Koeman’s Barcelona after Monday night’s 1-1 draw against Granada. The Catalans fell behind in the second minute and only managed to equalize in the 90th minute. The criticism in the newspapers is not only aimed at Koeman; the composition of the selection is also examined.
“This Barca is light years away from Barca. It’s a drama,” writes marca. “Granada is pouring salt in the wound of an impotent Barcelona. This club is no longer terrifying. The rivals have lost respect, Granada made that clear. In fact, there were only five real basic players in the base: Marc-André Ter Stegen, Eric García, Sergio Busquets, Frenkie de Jong and Memphis Depay.” The line-up also consisted of Sergiño Dest, Ronald Araújo, Alejandro Baldé, Sergi Roberto, Yusuf Demir and Philippe Coutinho. Ansu Fati, Ousmane Dembélé and Sergio Agüero were absent due to injuries. “This Barcelona just doesn’t have what it takes to compete with Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid or even Sevilla for the title. Placing a few children is not the solution. This Barcelona has to be rebuilt brick by brick, Koeman is starting to be in the spotlight.”
“A new, surreal chapter in the demise of Koemans Barcelona,” writes Sport, the best-selling sports newspaper in Catalonia, about the draw against Granada. “The Catalans end the game by pumping balls into the box, towards Luuk de Jong, Gerard Pique and Ronald Araújo… Nobody could believe the early 0-1, the nightmare continues. Granada gave Barcelona the ball, knowing full well that Koeman’s men would have no idea what to do with it. Only Memphis tried something else,” it sounds. The draw puts Barcelona on eight points from five games, putting them in seventh place in the LaLiga ranking. The gap with leaders Real Madrid is five points.
‘Have you seen the player list? What are we going to do then? Playing Tiki Taka?’
Ronald Koeman did not want to talk about his future after the Barcelona – Granada game.
Mundo Deportivo writes that Koeman is in dire straits. “Barcelona played against a team that, after 25 defeats in a row at the Camp Nou, now suddenly wins and draws. This could mean the outbreak of a storm. How heavy that is, will become clear in the coming days. Araújo’s goal weakened the storm somewhat. It’s not that Barcelona didn’t try, it just didn’t break through the Granada wall.” ASH notes that the whistle was blown throughout the game. “The whistle was blown after Coutinho’s second loss of possession and that continued until Baldé’s substitution. The crowd is an angry man waiting on the bus on Monday morning for someone to step on him so he can fight.”