Koeman : “I feel supported, very supported by my players here at Barcelona. And by the club? I don’t know…”. 🚫 #FCB #Barça https://t.co/QaDUbtouFc
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) September 29, 2021
Spanish powerhouse, Barcelona, suffered a major loss in Lisbon when they were thumped 3-0 by Portuguese giants SL Benfica at the Estádio da Luz on Wednesday, throwing fresh speculation on how long boss Ronald Koeman has on the Camp Nou touchline.
LISBON, PORTUGAL – SEPTEMBER 29: Coach Ronald Koeman of FC Barcelona during the UEFA Champions League match between Benfica v FC Barcelona at the Estadio da Luz on September 29, 2021 in Lisbon Portugal (Photo by Eric Verhoeven/Soccrates/Getty Images)
Rafa Silva’s second-half strike was sandwiched by a brace from Uruguayan hitman Darwin Núñez on either side of halftime as Benfica climbed into second in Group E behind Bayern Munich who put a 5-0 hurting on Dynamo Kyiv at the Allianz Arena.
With that result, Barça have slumped to two defeats while failing to score a single goal in the process.
The five-time winners face the prospect of not featuring in the Champions League knockout stage for the first time since the 2003-04 season, when they did not qualify for competition.
The last time they failed to progress from the first group stage when competing was in 2000-01, which is also when they last suffered successive group defeats, to Besiktas and AC Milan.
Defeats by Bayern and Benfica in Group E this year mean Barca have lost their opening two matches in a European campaign for the first time since the 1972-73 Uefa Cup, when they were beaten in both legs by Porto.
They have also conceded six goals without scoring in the process and only one team has ever progressed with a record as bad – that was Lyon, who reached the last 16 in 2007-08.
Koeman said after the game that he felt support from the players, but he remained unsure about the club.
Koeman : “I feel supported, very supported by my players here at Barcelona. And by the club? I don’t know…”. 🚫 #FCB #Barça https://t.co/QaDUbtouFc
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) September 29, 2021
Frenkie de Jong when asked about Ronald Koeman future: “In my opinion the solution is not to change the coach”. 🔴 #FCB #Koeman— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) September 29, 2021
Busquets also added that the run of results and performances is the responsibility of everybody at the club.
Sergio Busquets: “It’s easy to sack the manager… the truth is we’re all responsible for this situation. And it’s critical situation, to be honest”, via @tjuanmarti
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) September 29, 2021
Barcelona travel to Wanda Metropolitano Stadium on October 2nd to face the defending champion Athletico Madrid in which may determine the future of Koeman as the head coach of Barcelona.