Barcelona coach Ronald Koeman was overhead delivering defensive instructions to his players during a cooling break in the first half of Sunday’s La Liga clash with Getafe at Camp Nou.
The break came just minutes after Memphis Depay has restored Barca’s lead to make it 2-1 to the hosts. Sergi Roberto had put Barca ahead inside two minutes but former Barca forward Sandro equalized on 19 minutes.
Koeman was overheard offering some defensive instructions to his players and made it clear what we wanted from his team, as reported by The Athletic’s Dermot Corrigan.
Getafe’s goal was the first Michel’s team had scored in three La Liga games so far this season. The strike also ensured Barca is still yet to keep a clean sheet in the new 2021-22 campaign.
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Four Changes To Barcelona Defense
Koeman was forced into changes for Sunday’s match. Center-back Eric Garcia was suspended after receiving a red card against Athletic last time out, while fellow defender Gerard Pique is sidelined with a calf injury.
Ronald Araujo and Clement Lenglet replaced the duo in central defense, while Emerson Royal also came in at right-back and took over from Sergino Dest. Koeman also handed goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen his first start of the season after the German returned from injury.
There was also a change further forward with Roberto coming in for Pedri who has been rested. The 29-year-old has his detractors but came into the match with a goal and an assist from two substitute appearances and opened the scoring after just 99 seconds. According to Opta, it’s the fastest goal Barca has scored under Koeman.
Memphis Scores Again
Roberto was joined on the scoresheet in the first half by summer signing Memphis who is proving to be an excellent addition to the squad. The Dutchman opened his account for the Catalan giants with a stunning strike against Athletic last time out and scored another fine goal to put Barca 2-1 up.
The goal means Memphis becomes the first player to be involved in a goal in each of his first three LaLiga appearances for Barcelona since Cesc Fabregas in 2011, according to Opta.
Indeed Memphis already appears to be Barca’s new talisman following the departure of Lionel Messi in the summer. He also scored three times in pre-season and seems to be thriving under Koeman at the Camp Nou.
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