FOOTBALL – Barça: Koeman’s little phrase about Messi says it all
After its elimination in the last 16 of the Champions League against PSG, Ronald Koeman’s Barça still has two main objectives this season. The first is to win the King’s Cup, which the Catalans will play the final against Athletic Bilbao. But Barcelona, on a superb 16-game unbeaten streak in La Liga, can still hope to win the championship, as they are now only four points behind the leader, Atletico Madrid. Indeed, on Monday, the Barcelona team largely beat the bottom club Huesca (4-1), taking advantage of the leader’s 0-0 draw at Getafe.
Barça make up for lost time in La Liga
Barça were thought to be out of the running in La Liga a few weeks ago, but now Lionel Messi‘s club is back in the lead. “I’ve always said that La Liga is not played,” said Ronald Koeman in a press conference after the win against Huesca. “It’s always very difficult for any team to win games. After losing some points in the last few weeks, the team is good, we are reacting well, we are in a position to fight but we can’t afford to lose more points.” In other words, Barça must now win everything if the Catalans want to be champions. And without the European Cup, the objective becomes major, including for Joan Laporta, just elected president of the club and who does not want to have to assume too many sporting failures at the end of the season.
Messi, “the most important man in Barça
Against Huesca, Lionel Messi took the opportunity to equal the record of games played for FC Barcelona, previously owned by Xavi with 767 matches. To celebrate this record, which he will beat next weekend, the Argentine offered a double and an assist, Monday night at the Camp Nou. There is nothing more to say about Messi,” said Ronald Koeman, Barcelona coach. Leo has shown a great level for many years, which is what allowed him to equal Xavi. In principle, on Sunday, he will have one more game than Xavi. He is the most important man in Barça, fortunately he is still with us.” But for how much longer?
