Barcelona coach Koeman: No space for tiki-taka

Ronald Koeman defended his direct tactics after being accused of betraying Barcelonarsquos attacking traditions in a 11 draw at home to Granada on MondayKoeman brought Gerard Pique off the bench at Camp Nou to play up front alongside Luuk de Jong with Ronald Araujo another central defender also thrown into the attack as Barca sent in 54 crosses in search of an equaliserAraujo finally headed home in injurytime after Domingos Duarte had given Granada an early lead but the whistles at the end from the Barcelona fans indicated a point was not nearly enoughPoint gainedldquoWe changed our style a little bitrdquo Koeman said ldquoThe spaces were out wide not in the middle We went with Pique De Jong and Araujo and from one of those crosses we got the drawrdquoRonald KoemanKoemanrsquos position was already fragile after last weekrsquos 30 drubbing at home to Bayern Munich in the Champions League a game in which his team failed to muster a single shot on target After the latest disappointment against Granada it was put to him that supporters were even angrier about Barcelonarsquos style than the resultldquoIf you see the list of players what do you do Play tikitaka when there are no spacesrdquo said Koeman ldquoWe did what we had to do We tried to win another way We donrsquot have players oneonone or with speed Wersquore talkingIrsquom not going to say more because it seems I have to argue about everythingrdquoKoeman insisted he was calm and not fearing for his future as Barcelona coach but an alreadystrained relationship with club president Joan Laporta will be pushed to breaking point if results and performances do not improveQuick strikeThere were 85 seconds on the clock when Domingos Duarte headed Granada in front Sergio Escudero was quickest to his cleared corner and he beat Sergio Busquets twice once to the ball and then again to the line where he fed Duarte who nipped in front of Frenkie de Jong at the back postLuuk de Jong came on for Sergi Roberto at halftime indicating a more direct approach was coming but Granada were not uncomfortable De Jong should have scored with 11 minutes left but headed over from five yardsAraujo was booked after a skirmish with Granadarsquos defenders and then with the adrenaline still pumping he grabbed an equaliser for Barca keeping the ball alive in the box and then dashing forward to meet Gavirsquos chipped ball inBarca chased a second with Araujo sprinting down the right and trying to find Pique in the middle Granada took a deserved pointCheck out all the latest news and updates on IPL 2021This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliabilitsy and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever