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Barcelona coach Ronald Koeman had a message for supporters after a dismal week for the Catalan giants. Defeats to newly-promoted Cadiz in La Liga and Juventus in the Champions League have continued a poor start to the 2020-21 season.
The Catalan giants return to action on Sunday against Levante in La Liga, and Koeman was asked to send a message to the fanbase ahead of the game in his pre-match press conference on Saturday.
Of course, it’s difficult for them because if you are used to always winning titles then it’s difficult to understand why you lose to Cadiz or Getafe. It’s difficult to explain, but it’s also a transition that started at the end of the last season. The situation at the club it’s difficult with Covid, the financial situation, a new president in January, a lot of uncertainty. It’s difficult but we have to be patient so that in February we can see a winning team again.
Barca head into the match already 12 points adrift of table-toppers Atletico Madrid after just 10 games played. Diego Simeone’s side face a tough test against Real Madrid on Saturday.
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Must-Win for Barca
Koeman’s side take on a Levante team who have managed just two wins all season to sit only three points off the bottom of the table. The Barca boss also explained it’s a match his team simply can’t afford not to win.
We play at home against a team that of course will want to take the three points and we will have to pay attention to try to find spaces and create chances. It’s a really important week with three games at home and our situation in the league means we need to win all three games.
Sunday’s match is followed by La Liga visits from Real Sociedad and Valencia before Barca head to Real Valladolid on December 22 for their final fixture before Christmas.
Ahead of those games is Monday’s Champions League last-16 draw. Barca’s costly defeat to Juventus means they are facing a tough draw and could be paired with teams such as Liverpool, Bayern Munich, or Paris Saint-Germain.
Levante Boss Plays Down Barcelona Crisis
Meanwhile, Levante boss Paco Lopez played down talk of a crisis at Barcelona in his news conference despite the Catalan giants’ poor start to the season. Lopez feels Koeman’s men remain a very difficult proposition at the Camp Nou, as reported by Sport.
Despite the sensation that they’re not at their best, I’d put that in inverted commas because if you look at their league games they score four against Villarreal, five against Real Betis, four past Osasuna. That shows the great difficulty of playing Barcelona at their stadium. We know our plan clearly, but it’s not just what you want to do, but what they let you do.
Lopez’s side head into the match fresh from a morale-boosting 3-0 win over Getafe last time out. They will still be big underdogs to take anything away from the Camp Nou but surely won’t lack for confidence given Barca’s inconsistency.
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