Barcelona coach Ronald Koeman attacked journalists during the conference that was held in the wake of
the victory over Levante in the Spanish League with a clean goal, on Sunday.
The Dutch coach seemed frustrated by a question from journalists about his tactical methods and accused
them of “looking to stir up controversy.”
“This is the classic question that people ask when they want to stir up an argument,” said Coman.
And he stressed that he was only interested in the need to beat Levante, which is what happened with
the 1-0 victory, instead of thinking about how to win.
Lionel Messi scored the winning goal near the end, and although Barcelona had missed several chances beforehand,
he struggled until the last moments with Levante pressuring over the course of 5 minutes of injury time.
Coman put on defender Samuel Umtiti instead of forwarding Antoine Griezmann near the end to help his side
maintain the lead, and he had to defend a change that was interpreted as a defensive move.
“I don’t care how we won,” Koeman told reporters. “We were aware that we would face corner kicks and
set-pieces and that we must defend in these situations in any way possible.”
He continued, “Throughout my career, I have always realized that while advancing 1-0, even if you are in control,
you must have the ability to defend.”
Barcelona entered the match 12 points behind leaders Real Sociedad and Atletico Madrid, after losing
surprisingly in the last round to Cadiz and then stumbling 0-3 against Juventus, losing the top of their group
in the Champions League.
Barcelona reduced the difference with the top of the Spanish League to 9 points, before an expected summit with
Sociedad next Wednesday.
“It was very important to win because we are at the table,” Koeman said. “I am happy with the team because
we did what needs to be done.”
