Koeman talks VAR, title race, strikers after painful El Clasico defeat

Ronald Koeman’s FC Barcelona side fell to a narrow but bitter defeat at the hands of rivals Real Madrid in a crucial El Clasico, that has put a dent in their hopes for a La Liga title. In what was a potential title-deciding matchup, a poor first half from Barcelona proved to be their undoing as they lost 2-1.

In a match filled with drama up until the very end, Barcelona played a much better second half, being denied twice by the woodwork, including the final chance which was the last kick of the game. They now sit third in the La Liga table with eight games to go.

Ronald Koeman seemed clearly frustrated with the loss and also at the level of officiating during the game as he spoke to the press after the game. Here are his thoughts:

On the performance: “We weren’t good in the first half, neither in attack nor in defense.”

On the refereeing: “The penalty was a clear one. Once again we have to accept it and shut our mouths… And only four minutes of extra time in a game like this?”

On the amount of added time: “The referee adds four minutes of extra time while it cost the referee three minutes to change his headset…”

On VAR: “I don’t know why there is VAR in Spain. The ref might not have seen the penalty on Braithwaite, but there is VAR to help him! I always defend my team and my club and I don’t want to say more about this issue.”

On the team’s morale after the game: “The team feels sad. We know that we haven’t been at our best level tonight. We didn’t defend well enough.”

On the title race: “The truth is that I’m very optimistic. We have shown that we fight and there are many games left. We’re going to fight until the very last game. Next week we have a title to play for and we’ll keep on preparing.”

On lacking a striker: “It’s true that sometimes perhaps we need more penetration.”

Source: Barça TV+