Ronald Koeman opens up on Barcelona’s win against Dynamo Kyiv | OneFootball

Having had to deal with the ignominy of leading Barcelona to their worst-ever start to a UEFA Champions League campaign, Ronald Koeman will be breathing a sigh of relief after his team opened their account in the competition.

After back-to-back defeats against Bayern Munich and SL Benfica, the Blaugrana registered their first win in the Champions League on Wednesday, beating Dynamo Kyiv 1-0 at Camp Nou.

A Gerard Pique volley from a Jordi Alba cross in the 30th minute proved to be enough for Barcelona as they moved to third place in Group E, a point shy of SL Benfica in second, who are playing leaders Bayern Munich.

Speaking after the game, the Barcelona manager gave his thoughts on the performance, insisting that while he was happy with the result, the team needed to do better to take their chances and kill the game off – something that was touched upon by defender Jordi Alba as well.

“This keeps us alive in the Champions League and anything is still possible thanks to this win, but we needed to finish the game off better than we’ve managed to,” Koeman said.

Further elaborating on the performance in his post-match press conference, the Dutch tactician added: “I’m happy with the team’s game, but not with the effectiveness in front of goal. We cannot miss that many chances when our life is on the line. I understand the people’s whistles. We should have won 3-0, or 4-0 today. We cannot miss this many chances.”

Koeman also spoke about teenage prodigy Ansu Fati, who could have helped Barcelona add to their tally after coming on from the bench. But, instead of passing to a teammate in a better position, the 18-year-old went for an audacious effort and ended up missing.

“Ansu Fati still has to improve, and it’s normal. We have to remember that he did not play for almost a year. At age 19 you can’t expect him to take Messi’s role in the team,” the Barcelona manager added.

Up next for the Catalans is the vital El Clasico against Real Madrid. Speaking of the prospects of facing their arch-rivals on Sunday, Koeman said: “Facing a Clásico is always easier after a win rather than a defeat. Can we beat Madrid? Yeah, why not?”

Source: BarcaTV+