Koeman frustrated by Pique red card in big Barca win
SHOWS: BARCELONA, SPAIN (OCTOBER 20, 2020) (BARCA TV HANDOUT - MUST NOT OBSCURE LOGO)
1. JOURNALIST ASKING BARCELONA COACH RONALD KOEMAN A QUESTION
2. (SOUNDBITE) (English) BARCELONA COACH, RONALD KOEMAN, SAYING:
"We were a little bit too lazy in the start of the game, and they had one or two good chances. But after that we took the rhythm in the game, we played good football, we were scoring. But as I said before, maybe the best part of the game was after half time, 20-25 minutes on a high rhythm of our ball position scoring goals. The red card complained a little bit but we are used to play with one less."
3. JOURNALIST ASKING KOEMAN A QUESTION
4. (SOUNDBITE) (English) BARCELONA COACH, RONALD KOEMAN, SAYING:
"We did defensively well and even we scored twice playing with ten men and that was really positive. Finally, a good result, a good start for the Champions League and we have time now to prepare the game for Saturday."
5. JOURNALIST ASKING KOEMAN A QUESTION
6. (SOUNDBITE) (English) BARCELONA COACH, RONALD KOEMAN, SAYING:
"He (Leo Messi) is disciplined, he is working hard for his body and to be in a perfect condition to play. And then the quality of the player is amazing. You saw it tonight, he was scoring a penalty but the feel of the game, the assist for one or two goals, it was great and we are so happy to have him in Barcelona because he is showing every season that he is the best player in the world."
7. JOURNALIST ASKING KOEMAN A QUESTION
8. (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) BARCELONA COACH, RONALD KOEMAN, SAYING:
"It's been a little difficult for us to get into the game with the pace of the ball we want to put in. I think that sometimes it is our problem, if we slow down, if we lower our pressure and aggressiveness, and let the opponents play too much, we have problems. If we are able to command the rhythm of the game, we are very good and we have seen those phases of the game."
9. JOURNALIST ASKING KOEMAN A QUESTION
10. (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) BARCELONA COACH, RONALD KOEMAN, SAYING:
"We play differently, we have made changes in the team, in the squad. We opted for new people, for young people. So yes, you can't ask more of this team at the moment. I think we're doing well, there are enough reasons why we haven't won every game and it's about improving, working every day, but this team is going to have a great future."
11. JOURNALIST ASKING KOEMAN A QUESTION
12. KOEMAN LEAVING NEWS CONFERENCE
STORY: Barcelona coach Ronald Koeman lamented a red card for Gerard Pique in their 5-1 Champions League victory over Ferencvaros on Tuesday (October 20) that will keep the experienced defender out of next week's trip to Juventus.
Pique was sent off by Swiss referee Sandro Scharer with 20 minutes to go after a blatant pull-back in the box on the jersey of Ferencvaros striker Tokmac Nguen after he had been well beaten for pace.
"The red card complained a little bit but we are use to play with one less." he said on a news conference after the match.
Lionel Messi became the first player to score in 16 consecutive Champions League seasons, while Ansu Fati, Philippe Coutinho, 17-year-old Pedri and Ousmane Dembele were on target in what was, in the end, a commanding performance from the Catalan side.
"We are so happy to have him in Barcelona because he is showing every season that he is the best player in the world", Koeman said, adding that he was pleased the goals had been shared around.
(Production: Elena Rodriguez)
