RONALD KOEMAN all-but ruled Barcelona out of the LaLiga title race after their latest slip-up.
The Dutchman saw his side falter once again on Tuesday night with a 1-1 draw at home to relegation-threatened Eibar.
Ronald Koeman admitted his Barcelona side are practically out of the LaLiga title raceCredit: Getty Images – Getty
Barca have now dropped nine points at home already in the league this seasonCredit: AFP OR LICENSORS
It left the Catalan giants sixth in the table on 25 points from 15 matches – seven adrift of leaders Atletico Madrid who have two games in hand.
And Koeman admitted it would take something spectacular for Barca to win the league this season.
He said: “If I’m realistic, the title is very complicated.
“Nothing is impossible, but you have to recognise the distance.
“Atletico seem to me to be very good, very strong. They don’t concede many goals.”
Barcelona were again without Lionel Messi who is continuing his recovery from an ankle injury and watched on in disbelief from the stands at the Nou Camp.
He saw Martin Braithwaite miss a penalty after eight minutes and then have another goal ruled out for a marginal offside as Barca failed to take their chances.
And they were made to pay when Ronald Araujo’s mistake was punished by Kike Garcia who raced clear to slot in just before the hour mark.
Marca went with the headline ‘This is life without Messi’
Sport opted for ‘Another Disaster’ to describe the 1-1 draw with Eibar
Uruguayan centre-back Araujo said: “The truth is the goal we conceded was s***. We can’t concede like that. It’s a shame.”
The two Ronalds had their blushes partly spared ten minutes later when half-time substitute Ousmane Dembele fired home a low drive to equalise.
And with Atleti back in action on Wednesday night against Getafe, Barca could find themselves ten points off top spot having now dropped nine at home in the league already.
Marca went with the headline ‘This is life without Messi’ as the Argentine’s future becomes increasingly likely to be away from the Nou Camp with his contract up in the summer.
Sport opted for ‘Another Disaster’ to describe the poor performance and poor result.
Lionel Messi watched on from the stands as he continues to recover from an ankle injuryCredit: Reuters
Kike Garcia put Eibar in front after capitalising on Ronald Araujo’s errorCredit: EPA
Koeman added: “We deserved to win. We did what we had to do. They only shot on goal once.
“We created chances, but we didn’t score the penalty and then made a mistake in defence.
“In general we played a good game, but individual mistakes have cost us points.
“I don’t want to say we lacked experience. We play with young players – today we had five or six – but we also had experience.
“We lacked Leo, who makes a difference. But the feeling is still, how did we not win?
“It cannot be said that Barca play better without Messi. He is on another level.”
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Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
