“Whether Memphis Depay is the star of this Barcelona?”

Sunday, August 22, 2021 at 00:42• Daniel Cabot Kerkdijk

A wonderful goal by Memphis Depay ended the game between Athletic Club and Barcelona in LaLiga on Saturday evening in 1-1. A few minutes after the break, coach Marcelino’s team made it 1-0 via a header from Iñigo Martinez, but fifteen minutes before the end, Depay shot the ball devastatingly into the roof of the Basque’s goal. For the the Dutch international, who last week in the home game against Real Sociedad (4-2 win), it was already good for an assist, his first official goal for los Azulgrana. Ronald Koeman said he saw ‘a great game’ and was content with the point in San Mamés afterwards.

“It was a great match. In the opening phase of the match we made it way too difficult for ourselves,” emphasized Koeman. “Athletic put a lot of pressure and did it in an excellent way. And you just have to know when to play the ball short and when not to. We lacked peace of mind in the first fifteen minutes. After that it might have gotten better. We scored a goal, but it was disallowed. I don’t know if it was a foul,” he referred to Ronald Araujo’s goal just before the break. An alleged pushing foul by Martin Braithwaite resulted in the goal being disallowed.

“I especially want to reflect on the attitude of the players, especially after the goal against,” Koeman continued. “I think a draw is a fair result. I’ve seen a very good Athletic. If they continue to play like this, it will be difficult for any opponent to play here. I am not dissatisfied with this result. Frankie de Jong He was important in the second half. He is breaking lines and overall he played a great game.” The downer in the first half was the resignation of Gerard Pique. The defender is struggling with complaints to his left calf and further investigation should reveal the seriousness of the injury.

“I think it’s more or less the same injury he already had. I also don’t think it’s serious.” Koeman was asked whether Barcelona’s opponents are showing more guts now that Lionel Messi is no longer among the Catalans’ ranks. “I don’t like to talk about the same thing over and over, but we are talking about the best player in the world,” the Dutchman emphasized. “An opponent is more scared when Messi is there, of course. That also applies to us. When Messi has the ball, he usually doesn’t lose it. It can be seen that he is not there. We know that too, but we can’t change it.”

Antoine Griezmann is still on zero goals and zero assists after two league matches. He was also often invisible in Bilbao. “Every attacker had problems,” Koeman countered. “From the start we didn’t play our game and we were put under a lot of pressure. The last half hour was different and we created danger. But Antoine also works hard, although it is true that he has had few opportunities offensively.”

“Whether Depay is the star of this Barcelona? Depay is a great footballer and that’s why we got him,” emphasized Koeman. “It’s a shame he couldn’t make the 1-2 either. Depay is an important footballer who combines efficiency and power, which is very important.” Barcelona will play another home game against Getafe next Sunday, just before the international break.