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Barcelona coach Ronald Koeman discussed why midfielder Riqui Puig did not feature at all in Sunday’s 1-0 La Liga win over Levante at the Camp Nou.
The 21-year-old put in an impressive performance off the bench against Juventus in midweek in the Champions League and was spotted warming up in the second half of Sunday’s encounter.
Koeman offered his thoughts after the match and denied Puig’s absence was anything to do with a report published earlier in the day detailing a confrontation between the two earlier this season, as reported by Mundo Deportivo.
It is not due to an extra-sporting issue, far from it. I know there are things in the press and I don’t want to answer or react, but it’s an internal thing for the coaching staff. He was warming up at 0-0 and when we scored we decided not to put him in.
According to El Pais, Koeman accused Puig of leaking information from the locker room ahead of the Joan Gamper Trophy match back in September. The boss was angered after reports emerged that he had told the youngster he was not in his plans for 2020-21.
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Koeman Gets Vital Win
Koeman also spoke about his team’s performance after picking up a vital win following defeats to Cadiz in La Liga and Juventus in the Champions League. Lionel Messi scored the only goal of the match on 76 minutes to secure an important three points.
It was a very important victory. We knew that due to our classification in the league after losing in Cádiz we needed the three points. We created many chances, we scored a great goal and it is important for our confidence. Then we defended well and that was very important for us
The team has worked well, they have done their best. Of course, I have seen moments in the first half when more confidence was lacking, but I think we improved a lot in the second half. The opposing goalkeeper was the best in the game, we have to improve this, but I can’t have a single complaint about the attitude of the players.
The win will ease some pressure on Koeman after a poor start to the campaign, but he has little time to enjoy the victory with another tough game up next. Barca face La Liga leaders Real Sociedad at the Camp Nou on Wednesday.
La Real have suffered just one defeat in 13 matches so far in 2020-21 and will prove a real test of Koeman’s side. Yet there is huge incentive for Barca, who have two games in hand on La Real, as a win would also reduce the gap between the two sides to six points.
Koeman was bullish about his team’s titles hopes after the match, explaining “of course we can win.” Yet he will know that his side must put together a strong winning run if they are to have any chance of pushing up the table and challenging for the league title.
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