Ronald Koeman speaks following another Barcelona disaster, this time against Atletico

The game against Atletico Madrid was largely speculated to be Ronald Koeman’s last game in charge as the manager of FC Barcelona. However, things have changed in the final hours and the coach seems set to stay for at least a little longer.

After Barcelona fell to yet another loss, Koeman addressed the press in the traditional post-match press conference. Here are the major takeaways from his briefing.

On the style of play on the night: “Today, we couldn’t play deep and opened up the field. Depay had to go back to the midfield in order to get the ball. In front of an opponent like Atletico you have to open the field and take advantage of all the opportunities you have.”

On Joan Laporta’s confidence in him: “Laporta’s confidence is important, that’s a good thing on his part, and it’s in everyone’s interest.”

On the quality of the opposition: “It’s not easy to create chances against Atletico Madrid.”

On his situation at Barcelona: “Laporta called me last night and we were talking. At least there is clarity in this regard. After the international break there are 3 games that we have to win.”

On the injury crisis: “We’re missing players who open the field more. Against an opponent like Atlético, it means a lot.”

On the overall performance at Wanda Metropolitano: “At some stages of the game we were fine, but we made some serious mistakes, like in the first goal. These were things we’d talked about before. We may not have had very clear chances, but we could have done more harm.”

On the positive takeaways from the game: “At least we dominated the game, and we had patience, creating two chances to score. But unfortunately, we couldn’t score. The team’s behavior was good.”

Source: Barça TV