BarcelonaKoeman’s reign at Barça has become a bad joke. A descent into hell that seems to have no end. Lisbon, turned into a city of unfortunate return for Barcelona, saw Barça burn with a thrashing that should have consequences (3-0). Benfica, with an idea of the game, thrashed a team in which it was difficult to understand what the system was. To Koeman, the credit ran out long ago. It’s like Barça’s economy, it’s in red numbers. His situation is unsustainable, as the game was worse than the result. Stubborn to die with his ideas, he came out with three central, the system that claimed to serve to prevent thrashing. The reality, however, is stubborn. And Benfica, as Bayern did, thrashed a team that has become the midfielder of Europe.
In a new night to forget in Lisbon, Benfica left Barça against the ropes in Europe as the last in the group, without points, without goals scored and with six goals conceded. A team without much room for maneuver if it wants to stay alive in the Champions League, a competition it dreamed of not so long ago and which is now like getting on the witch’s train, which scares tired Catalans from matches turned into torture. Koeman remains committed to his fatalistic, nihilistic discourse, convinced that this is the reality. Barça know that the team can play better. Koeman has been left alone defending a speech that sadly goes hand in hand with the facts. Indeed, playing as the coach wants, Barça cannot compete against anyone in Europe.
Instead of being carried away by the carefree nature of the youngsters who cheered against Levante, Koeman made it clear that he is well-rounded and insisted on the tactical system that made waters against Bayern. And look who knows that this scheme doesn’t appeal to players. Neither in Laporta, nor in the fans. Not bad, have character. Now, when you’re the captain of a ship heading against an iceberg, it might be a good idea to accept the advice to change course.
The painful return to the 2-8 stage against Bayern was a new trial. In this Koeman is also like Barça, a club that has a very active life in the courts. The lineup, however, was already a shot in the foot. And in three minutes Benfica had already scored, with Darwin Núñez playing with Eric Garcia just as a 15-year-old boy is stepping on the ball to a 10-year-old boy on the school skate. Jorge Jesus, one of those geniuses on the bench born in Portugal, better understood the game and occupied the spaces between the lines, mortified with each attack and knew how to suffer in defense against a Barça in which Pedri returned after the injury. And the canary, of course, did not hide. It is not part of his character.
In a Barça in which the reward for the good match of Gavi and Nico was to be substitutes in Europe, Pedri allied with Frenkie de Jong, who managed to hurt Benfica with his vertical races. The two created the play in which Luuk de Jong could have tied, but the Dutch striker is not the new that Barça deserves. And first he shot against a defender, then blocked himself a shot from Pedri, annoying inside the area. Always in the middle, like Thursday, annoying.
Gone are the days when every Barça European trip was like a Bolshoi tour, visiting the great European cities to dazzle. Now, every trip is a humiliation. Rome, Turin, Liverpool, Lisbon twice. Piqué was shown a yellow card for standing over the ball and blocking an opponent’s quick free kick after 33 minutes. Koeman avoided staying with 10 by bringing in Gavi, but instead of changing the three-center system, he positioned one of the few players who hurt on offense, Frenkie de Jong, on defense. Instead of taking a step forward, Barça continued to drown in their doubts, with the change. Koeman’s system continued to leave a dark Sergi Roberto naked in the band, while Memphis did what it could. A drama in which the worst was that it was not surprising. The Barça drama of the three central defenders, with Koeman dizzying his players with his changes.
Koeman, who doesn’t know or can’t, didn’t know how to change the dynamics of the game at halftime. And the second half was a penance for a team that ended up becoming a toy. When the Dutch coach made a triple change, finally betting on Ansu Fati and Nico, Benfica took 30 seconds to make the second in a play in which the Portuguese won four times a rejection in the front, until Rafa Silva sentenced. Dest, joining the collective sacrifice project, committed a penalty like a cathedral and allowed Da Luz to celebrate the third. Then came the red to Eric Garcia. When you think that Barça can’t fall lower, they end up thrashed by Benfica, among the “ole” of the Portuguese fans. Koeman, who defended a disposition with three defenses to avoid thrashings, already has two against playing like this. The apologies are over. Time, too. If Barça want to stay alive in Europe, they can’t fail anymore. And it needs a different, less complex discourse.
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