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‘Very disappointed’ Koeman reacts to Barcelona’s shocking defeat

Ronald Koeman, FC Barcelona
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Barcelona fell to shocking LaLiga defeat at the hands of Cadiz on Saturday, leading to a warning from their manager.

Ronald Koeman conceded Barcelona took a ‘giant step backwards’ in the LaLiga title race and warned his squad to change their attitude for away matches.

The Blaugrana fell 12 points behind LaLiga leaders Atletico Madrid in the standings upon losing 2-1 in Cadiz.

Alvaro Gimenez handed the hosts an eight-minute lead before Pedro Alcala’s own goal put Barcelona back on level terms in the second half. But Alvaro Negredo restored Cadiz’s advantage just past the hour-mark to secure victory.

The former Real Madrid striker’s goal also condemned Barcelona to a third defeat in four away league games and a fourth overall.

“It’s hard to explain what happened because we had a good week,” Koeman told Movistar.

“I think the first half wasn’t good. We lost a lot of balls. There was a little improvement in the second half.

“It’s a giant step backwards to be able to compete for LaLiga. I’m very disappointed. There are many points dropped away. If we do not improve the attitude away from home, there is nothing else to say.

“We have ups and downs in our games, in our attitude, although in principle it is good, but there are moments that it is not. When we don’t have the ball, we fail a lot. This is an attitude [problem] of the whole team.”

Barcelona will next welcome Juventus to Camp Nou for a Champions League match on Tuesday.

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