Koeman Criticizes Packed Schedule And Speaks On Dembele Injury Ahead Of Barcelona’s Juventus Clash
FC Barcelona coach Ronald Koeman has criticized soccer’s packed schedule and has spoken on Ousmane Dembele’s injury ahead of a meeting with Juventus in Europe on Tuesday.
First asked on tomorrow’s clash in his prematch press conference, Koeman said that the team’s goal “is to win every game, play well and get first place in the Champions League [group]. We have three points’ advantage and we won 0-2 at their ground, so we have a lot of options.”
Next was Ousmane Dembele and his hamstring knock. “It’s a shame to lose another player because of an injury,” Koeman lamented. “He noticed something in the second half when he came on, [and] I thought it was nothing. [But] it’s a shame because he was [playing] well. He has a past with injuries and he has to recover and try to be okay.
“That’s one more reason to complain about the schedules. I don’t know who puts them [together], but if you have to play on a Tuesday night in the Champions League, for the sake of the Spanish teams you can’t play the game before like this [at 21.00 on a weekend night]. Especially when defending my players, [who come] home at three or four in the morning. We’re the team that has played all five away games at nine o’clock at night. It’s not a help for a Spanish team if you have to play in the Champions League on Tuesday.”
KOEMAN: I TOLD BARCELONA PLAYERS HOW ‘PISSED OFF’ I WAS WITH POOR FORM
Barcelona have been in a dreadful run of form that has seen them pick up just four wins from their first 10 league games.
On Saturday the Catalan side lost their fourth game of the season in a 2-1 defeat to Cadiz in what has now been the club’s poorest start to a campaign in 30 years.
Koeman’s side are now 12 points off league leaders Atletico Madrid after just 10 games, as the Dutch coach faces increasing pressure to turn things around.
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