Struggles continue for Barcelona

Chennai, January 19: It was a sad day in the office for Ronaldo Koeman as he saw Barcelona miss out on lifting a trophy for the first time after his appointment as manager in August.

The team also saw their captain, Lionel Messi see a straight red after after the Blaugrana captain made a harsh challenge.

Barcelona led twice in the Supercopa de Espana final against Ahletic Bilbao with Antoine Griezmann putting the ball into the back of the net both the times, but ultimately saw the cup slip away when Inaki Williams scored the decisive goal for the oppostition in the 93rd minute.

Messi facing lengthy suspension for hitting opponent

Barcelona have a lot to ponder after the loss, especially their disastrous back line. The Blaugrana’s defence continues to be a bg headache for the Dutch boss.

There have been individual errors made by the players right from the beginning of the season and if this continues to be the case for the remainder of the season, Barcelona are going to be at the receiving end of a number of blows just like last season’s thrashing at the hands of Bayern Munich.

The smile was back on Messi’s face over the past few weeks when the team from Blaugrana put in some really good performances. But, the smile on the captain’s face was lost on the night after he was handed the his first-ever Barcelona red card in his 753rd appearance for the club.

Koeman admitted that it was a great opportunity to boost the morale of the team had they won the trophy, but admitted that the defeat was not a step back for the team.

"You've to analyse the game, it’s difficult. We're sad and disappointed, because we wanted to win. It’s not a step backwards. A title is convenient to show that you’re on the right path, but we still showed that we're. We’ve done everything to win, but we were very tired. For many players it'll prove a good experience to have played in this final," Koeman rued after the game.



Barcelona need to up their game and confidence if they’re to achieve something this season.