Coman for the fans ... Barcelona are no longer favorites to win every match
Barcelona coach Ronald Koeman on Tuesday called on fans and game experts to accept that the team is no longer favorites to win every match.
Barcelona will meet La Liga leaders Real Sociedad on Wednesday and hope to build on their difficult 1-0 victory over Levante after two severe defeats by Cadiz and Juventus in the worst start of a season in the league in 33 years.
"The pressure here is great and everyone is asking you to win every match," Koeman told a news conference.
"But the club's situation is different now and we have to accept the idea that we cannot always win."
Journalists were surprised after the Levante match that Coman pushed defender Samuel Umtiti instead of striker Antoine Griezmann near the end to help his side maintain the lead, a move experts say contradicts the club's offensive philosophy.
"I understand the criticism when I lose four or five games, but when I was criticized for using defenders in the last minutes, I didn't understand the point because I wanted to win," Koeman said.
"I am not happy with the team’s results yet after we lost matches that we shouldn’t lose. We are trying to improve things and the result we achieved in that match was very important.
"The team made a lot of effort and was positive, and I hope the three points give us the peace of mind we need in tomorrow's match."
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