ResumeRonald Koeman can breathe a sigh of relief for the time being. With the victory over his old club Valencia (3-1) Koeman is now the best Dutch FC Barcelona coach ever in La Liga when it comes to the points average.
Sports editor
Latest update:
09:39
Koeman has now coached FC Barcelona for 46 La Liga matches and the Dutchman took 96 points, good for an average of 2.04 points per game. Cruijff coached Barça for three hundred games and took an average of 2.02 points in the Spanish league. A nice statistic, but with last season’s third place and the current seventh place, five points behind leader Real Sociedad, there is no reason for hosanna yet. Koeman knows that too.
,,We have only played eight league games. The season is still very long. For now it’s time to enjoy this match and the result. It’s too early to draw conclusions,” said Koeman after the game against Valencia. “We knew this match was very important. That’s why we put a lot of energy into the game. After that early deficit, it was important to calm down. We have succeeded in that,” said the Dutch coach.
Although Memphis Depay with a goal and Sergiño Dest with an assist were of great value to Barca, the returning Ansu Fati was still the big man for the Catalans: ,,His quality is undeniable. He is getting more and more rhythmic and I hope he will play at the club for many more years,” said Koeman, who knows that Fati’s contract will expire next season. Sport however, have the option to extend the contract for another two years.
“We have a plan with him. Little by little he will become even more important to us. Ansu is someone with special qualities, just like Sergio Aguero, who also made his first minutes. It’s not a question of quality with those guys, but of physical condition,” said Koeman.
Finally, Koeman also complimented Dest, who was drafted as a wing attacker: ,,At Ajax he also played as a left winger in youth. He did very well,” concluded Koeman, who did not want to say much about the questionable penalty that Barça received: “The referee has whistled, the VAR did not intervene: then it is a penalty.”
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