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Ronald Koeman hopes that Barcelona’s comeback in Granada could turn out to be a critical moment in his season.
Barcelona took a “giant step” towards a successful season with an exciting comeback over Granada, said Ronald Koeman.
The Catalans achieved a remarkable 5-3 victory in the Copa del Rey quarterfinals on Wednesday after forcing extra time at the Estadio Nuevo Los Cármenes.
The Barça only forces the extension
Barça was losing 2-0 until minute 87 only for Antoine Griezmann and Jordi Alba to force the additional time, after Francisco Trincao, Lionel Messi and Ousmane Dembélé had hit the nail on the head.
Griezmann made it 3-2 just for a Fede Vico penalty that leveled things again, but Frenkie de Jong scored on the rebound and Alba crashed an impressive volley at home to secure Barça’s semifinal spot.
Koeman suggested last week that his team was not ready to compete for the most important trophies and the Barça coach remains unconvinced that they can finish 2020-21 by winning LaLiga, the Cup and the Champions League.
However, he believes that his fight against Diego Martínez’s side perhaps it could be a turning point in your campaign.
He said: “I was referring to winning the three trophies: LaLiga, the Champions League and the Cup. I don’t think [we can win all three]. But I have always believed in the team. We have improved many things, especially in character. We have taken a big step forward.
“It helps to have spirit and strength in the team. That’s right. We have worked hard to get to the moment when the team begins to believe and it is a feeling of pride.” And it has come at an important moment of the season.
“We started the game very strong, we played very well in the first 20 minutes. A mistake when playing where we shouldn’t play cost us a goal.
“You have to highlight the mentality of the team because we never gave up. We had very bad luck with the carpentry. We did everything we could to win the game.”
“We deserved it for the mentality of the team, but this time we showed that we know how to suffer. We knew how to defend the result and we deserved the victory ”.
Griezmann was fundamental to the result, scoring Barça’s first before preparing Alba’s draw with a muffled header from a Messi center.
The French star then converted an emphatic header from his team and scored Alba’s spectacular second with a clever pass off the foot.
It was the first time that the 120 million euro man had been directly involved in four goals in the same match for the Catalans.
“I am really satisfied with Griezmann,” Koeman said. “I know it’s very important to him. The team needs him. With its effectiveness, we are more dangerous. “
Source: m.allfootballapp.com
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