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Barcelona coach Ronald Koeman was shown a red card in Thursday’s La Liga defeat to Granada at the Camp Nou but the Dutchman can be forgiven for feeling a little hard done by.
Koeman was sent off in the second half after Darwin Machis had tied the game at 1-1 following Lionel Messi’s opener. Samuel Marsden at ESPN explained the reason the referee offered after the match for showing the Barca boss a red.
The Barca boss spent the rest of the game in the stands at the Camp Nou and had to watch as his team let slip a 1-0 lead to go down 2-1. Jorge Molina hit Granada’s winner to hand Barca a sixth La Liga defeat of the season.
It looks like being a costly defeat for the Catalan giants too. Victory would have sent Koeman’s men top of the table with five games left to play but the result means they stay third behind Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid.
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Koeman Blasts ‘Incredible’ Red Card
Koeman spoke about his red card after the match and protested his innocence, as reported by Marca. The Barca boss said he did not insult any of the match officials.
“I don’t understand it. According to Carlos Naval, I disrespected the fourth official, but I didn’t say anything bad,” he said. “I didn’t insult him. It’s incredible. But if the fourth official wants to be the center of attention… I said something, but with all due respect. He responded to me in a way that wasn’t so nice. He disrespected me. If they put something in the report that I haven’t said, then I’ll have to do something about it.”
The red card will also mean Koeman is banned from the touchline for Sunday’s trip to his former team Valencia, according to Marca. The 58-year-old will once again have to watch the game from the stands.
Barca ‘Very Sad’ After Defeat
Koeman may just have his work cut out lifting his players after the damaging defeat with midfielder Frenkie de Jong admitting the team were feeling sad in the wake of the loss.
Yet the Dutch midfielder also insisted the players would continue fighting until the end of the campaign, as reported by Marca.
“We’re very sad at the moment. It’s normal, and tomorrow will be the same. Then, we have to get up and continue to fight until the end,” he said. “We have to keep working. In the first half we were good, and we continued to try to create danger in the second half, but it was difficult. They defended very well, and twice they shot, twice they scored.”
There’s no doubt that Thursday’s result is a huge disappointment for Barcelona, but there are still some key games left to play at the top of the table and there may be further twists in the title race still to come.
Leaders Atletico must still play Barcelona at the Camp Nou, while Real Madrid faces tricky tests against Sevilla, Granada, Athletic, and Villarreal.
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