After seeing Atletico and Real Madrid humiliate in the cup, Barcelona can not say it did not have a warning sign. After all, it is not by chance that Ronald Koeman chose to come up with a relatively strong team against the modest Cornia from the third division. And yet, she managed to miss two penalties and drag the game into overtime. Luckily, it didn’t end in disappointment that could have turned the season into a disaster.
The one who is obviously absent from the game is Lionel Messi, who was sent off in a direct red card in the game against Bilbao in the Spanish Super Cup final, and today (Friday) it was announced that Barça’s appeal was not accepted and the suspension will continue for the game against Elche.
Meanwhile, the Catalans got the ticket to the next stage of the cup and already today they knew who they would meet there. And here are the options: Bilbao, Betis, Granada, Levante, Osasuna, Sevilla, Sociedad, Valencia, Valladolid, Villarreal, Almeria, Girona, Rayo Vallecano, Alcoiano and Nabalcarneiro.
And now, for the game. So true, Barcelona has reached countless situations. And rightly so, she came across a formidable day for Cornia goalkeeper Juan Ramirez, who was the first ever to stop two penalties in the same game against Barcelona (as a result, he earned a Ter-Stegen shirt at the end). And yes, the grass, unlike the one at Camp Nou, was synthetic. But in the words of Ronaldo Koeman at the end: “It’s just unthinkable.”
“We had a lot of chances to score and we missed two penalties,” the Barcelona coach added. “There’s not much to add more than that. We’re Barcelona though, but we are inefficient. We have to finish games like that in the beginning. You can not be a Barcelona player and miss two penalties, it’s not serious. Other than Messi, we have no players who can consistently score from the spot. We need to get better at this. “
Barcelona’s ability, of course, drew criticism in Catalonia. “Barça were warned, twice, but mostly 24 hours before when Real Madrid were embarrassed. This trophy is a trap. The artificial turf, the substitutes, it’s a perfect cocktail to absorb the same blow that Real suffered. “That the Coman’s project can not afford. The coach has a lot of work to do.”
Koeman: “You can not miss two penalties being Barca players, it’s not serious.”
– barcacentre (@barcacentre) January 21, 2021
Ter Stegen has given Ramon Juan, the Cornellà goalkeeper, his shirt after the game, and congratulated him on his great game. [cadena ser]
– barcacentre (@barcacentre) January 21, 2021