F.Luis Suárez provided an extraordinary explanation for his piquant cheers on the phone. After the Atlético Madrid striker increased the crisis of FC Barcelona and coach Ronald Koeman with his goal to make it 2-0, he put his thumb and ring finger to his right ear. For many observers in Spain, a clear signal of ridicule in the direction of Koeman, who dumped him over the phone from the Catalans in the summer. No, no, the gesture was not aimed at the Dutchman, protested Suárez. “That was for everyone who knows that I still have the same number and that I still use the phone.”
At least the first jubilation of the 34-year-old Uruguayan after the goal for the final score against his long-term club shortly before half-time (44th minute) did not require any further explanation. With hands on top of each other, Suárez apologized to the Barça fans for the aggravation of their athletic pain. “Always respect,” he wrote to a picture of the gesture.
In the table, Barcelona slipped to ninth place due to their first league defeat of the season, and the pressure on Koeman continues to grow. In Madrid, the 58-year-old was once again not on the bench: after a red card, he was suspended for two league games. The former Hoffenheimer Alfred Schreuder looked after the team as co-trainer.
Even before the game, club president Joan Laporta had ruled out a separation for the time being. “Koeman remains the coach of Barça. We think he deserves a leap of faith for many reasons, ”said Laporta. Even a defeat against Atlético would not change this attitude. Now it will show what his words are worth.
“I am hopeful and confident that it will get better,” said Koeman. However, according to AS magazine, large parts of the team should no longer be behind him, the cabin is rumbling. On the grass, Piqué and Sergio Busquets fought a violent battle of words after the first goal.
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