Barcelona coach Ronald Koeman on Monday defended his direct tactics after being accused of betraying his team’s attacking traditions in a 1-1 draw at home to Granada.
Koeman brought Gerard Pique off the bench at the Camp Nou to play up front alongside Luuk de Jong, with Ronald Araujo, another central defender, also thrown into the attack as Barca sent in 54 crosses in search of an equalizer.
Araujo finally headed home in injury time after Domingos Duarte had given Granada an early lead, but the whistles at the end from the Barcelona fans indicated a point was not nearly enough.
Photo: AFP
“We changed our style a little bit,” Koeman said. “The spaces were out wide, not in the middle. We went with Pique, De Jong and Araujo, and from one of those crosses we got the draw.”
Koeman’s position was already fragile after last week’s 3-0 drubbing at home to Bayern Munich in the UEFA Champions League, a game in which his team failed to muster a single shot on target.
After the latest disappointment against Granada, it was put to him that supporters were even angrier about Barcelona’s style than the result.
“If you see the list of players, what do you do? Play tiki-taki? Tiki-taki when there are no spaces?” Koeman said. “We did what we had to do. We tried to win another way. We don’t have players one-on-one or with speed. We’re talking ... I’m not going to say more, because it seems I have to argue about everything.”
Koeman on Sunday said he was “calm” and not fearing for his future as Barcelona coach, but an already-strained relationship with club president Joan Laporta is likely to be pushed to breaking point if results, and performances, do not improve.
There were 85 seconds on the clock when Domingos Duarte headed Granada in front.
Sergio Escudero was quickest to his cleared corner and he beat Sergio Busquets twice, once to the ball and then again to the line where he fed Duarte, who nipped in front of Frenkie de Jong at the back post.
Barca tried to exert some control, but they never really stretched Granada.
As Barcelona grew more desperate, they became more predictable too, as more and more crosses were slung into the box in the hope someone might capitalize.
Araujo was booked after a skirmish with Granada’s defenders and then, with the adrenaline still pumping, he grabbed an equalizer for Barca, keeping the ball alive in the box and then dashing forward to meet Gavi’s chipped ball in.
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