We belive that the coach has more options than he tends to believe.
After the match against Valencia, Ronald Koeman said that Barcelona tried everything in order to win the match but they just didn’t have the luck. However, we believe that there are at least four things the coach could’ve done differently before saying he tried everything.
Use Riqui Puig
We’ve already learned that Koeman doesn’t like Riqui Puig for some reason or another, but that doesn’t mean he can’t use him at least as a sub. Under Quique Setien, Puig was our second most-creative player on the pitch, only behind Leo Messi, and as the Valencia game showed, Barcelona lack creativity in attack.
With Riqui, Messi, Pedri and Frenkie de Jong on the pitch, Barca’s chances to turn the game around would’ve been much better.
Konrad over Trincao
As many fans have noted, Koeman subs in Francisco Trincao almost every game but that never proves to be of any help, the Portuguese is yet to score a goal for Blaugrana despite having played 18 matches already.
Meanwhile, Barca have got Konrad de la Fuente on the bench who’s also a pure winger, who understands our game better and who, unlike Trincao, can play on both wings.
Braithwaite at centre-forward from the start
Some of the best games Barca have played his term is while having an out-and-out striker on the pitch. Martin Braithwaite has proven to be a useful asset when playing at centre-forward, while his performances on the left wing have been far from perfect. Next time, the coach should try using the Dane in attack for the whole match and not just in the when the Catalans are one goal down.
Bench Coutinho or at least use him in the right position
Philippe Coutinho has had a good start of the season but he’s yet to pick up his old form after the injury. While we understand that trusting your players is important, it shouldn’t come at the expense of losing points. So, instead of playing Coutinho while he’s underperforming, why not count on those players that are doing well whenever given the chance?
Or at the very least, use Coutinho in the attacking midfielder position where he performs best, he’s neither a left winger nor a central midfielder.
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