Wobbling Real offers Koeman chance in Clasico
MADRID: Ronald Koeman will know Barcelona can plunge Real Madrid into crisis today but for him a first Clasico as coach is more about vindication.
Inflicting a third consecutive defeat in a week on Madrid at Camp Nou would create the sort of turbulence for their opponents that Barca have grown only too used to in recent months.
But as much as cranking up the pressure on Zinedine Zidane and gaining an
early boost in La Liga’s title race would
be welcome, Koeman might claim the
biggest rewards from a victory.
Surprise leaders Real Sociedad and Villarreal have 11 points from six games.
Real Madrid have 10 points from five matches, while Barcelona have seven points from four games. Koeman, appointed Barcelona coach in August, has overseen a middling start to the season, with three wins, a draw and a defeat meaning the trajectory of his project is not yet clear. Most encouraging has been Koeman’s faith in youth, which has been repaid handsomely as Ansu Fati, Francisco Trincao and Pedri have all delivered more than expected in attack. Ansu is the most established of the three, the 17-year-old who set more records by scoring two goals in the team’s 5-1 win over Ferencvaros in the Champions League on Tuesday and has been arguably Barcelona’s stand-out performer so far. “We go into it with the maximum motivation possible,” said Fati. “It’s a Clasico, a game I have always dreamed of playing in.” The most pressing issue of Koeman’s tenure is Antoine Griezmann, who is now on his third coach at Barca but still yet to find anything close to top form. There will be scrutiny on superstar Lionel Messi too, whose contribution is so Meanwhile, often decisive. Real Madrid won La Liga only three months ago because of their defensive steel and a relentless will to win but ahead of today’s Clasico against Barcelona, they appear to be a team unravelling. After losing 1-0 at home to Cadiz for the first time in their history last weekend, Madrid fell 3-2 in the Champions League on Wednesday to Shakhtar
Donetsk, who had 10 first team players and nine staff missing due to coronavirus infections.
“We lacked a bit of everything but above all our confidence, which is the most important thing,” said Zidane. AFP