Barcelona boss Ronald Koeman says the 4-1 defeat to PSG shows just how much of a rebuild is needed at the club.
Barcelona still have a long way to go in a bid to regain their ‘elite’ status. The humiliating 4-1 defeat to PSG at Camp Nou is proof of the above, says manager Ronald Koeman.
Barca were back in the knockout stage of Europe’s elite club competition on Tuesday night. It was the first time since the 8-2 hammering at the hands of Bayern Munich in last season’s quarter-finals.
Lionel Messi’s opener from the penalty spot turned out to be a consolation goal.
In the absence of Neymar and Di Maria, Mbappe made Camp Nou his own and bagged a hat-trick before Moise Kean put the icing on the cake.
From the start of his tenure at Barcelona, Koeman had always insisted there was a need for a massive change in structure as well as personnel.
The 57-year-old says the 4-1 defeat to PSG handed his side a ‘reality check’.
“That was a cold bath of reality,” said Koeman to the club’s social channel.
“The game showed us we’re lacking a lot of things to be a top-level team especially of the level you need in the Champions League.”
“The scoreline reflects how superior they were. They were far more effective than us.”
“The first half was more even and when we were 1-0 up we had the chance for Ousmane (Dembele) but in the second half we had a lot of problems in defense and they proved they were much stronger than us physically.”
Should Barcelona bow out of the Champions League once again, Koeman would be at risk of overseeing a trophy-less season at the club. It would be the second year in succession that would happen.
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