Sports

Teams no longer fear Barcelona after Messi’s departure – Koeman

Published

3 years ago

August 22, 2021

Barcelona manager, Ronald Koeman, has admitted that opposing teams no longer fear them again following Lionel Messi’s exit..

Koeman’s men were held to a 1-1 draw at Athletic Bilbao on Saturday.

It is the first time Barca have dropped points in LaLiga this season.

Despite temporarily moving top of the table, Koeman was not afraid to express his disappointment and open up on Messi’s departure.

He said: “I don’t like to always talk about the same thing, but we’re talking about the best in the world. Our opponents had more fear when Messi was here.

“For us as well, if you pass the ball to Leo, usually he won’t lose it. You can tell [Messi] isn’t there. We know that and we can’t change it.”

Memphis Depay earned Barcelona a share of the points in the enthralling clash