Three games to determine Ronald Koeman’s future — report

According to Luis Rojo of Marca, Ronald Koeman’s future is dependant on the results of three upcoming games this month.

The manager has been under severe pressure following a poor start to the season across all fronts. Though the start to the league was slow, it was primarily the terrible start to the Champions League campaign that led to ideas of his dismissal.

Back-to-back three-goal defeats to Bayern Munich and Benfica led to Barcelona’s worst-ever start to the competition in 20 years. As of now, the team stand last in their group.

The encounter against Atletico Madrid was expected to be the Dutchman’s final game in charge of the Catalan club. An encounter that ended 2-0 in favour of Diego Simeone’s side was a tough pill to swallow, especially given the poor fight put up by the team.

Yet, Joan Laporta came out ahead of the clash at Wanda Metropolitano and spoke in support of Koeman, saying he would stay irrespective of the result.

Now, reports say that his continuity depends on the outcome of three games. The league clash against Valencia, the third matchday of the UCL against Dynamo Kyiv, and El Clasico are the three decisive clashes.

All three games come in the span of a week, and all promise to be gruelling encounters. It would require a monumental effort from both the manager and the players to pull off three positive performances back to back.

Yet, it remains to be seen if this is indeed the final chance given to Koeman.