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Kiev –
Barcelona successfully blocked tickets for the knockout stages of the Champions League. Ronald Koeman’s decision to rotate players yielded maximum results.
Barcelona faces a busy schedule until the end of this year. In addition, matchday four against Dynamo Kiev, Wednesday (11/25/2020) at the WIB in the morning, was only a few days after the tough duel against Atlético de Madrid.
Therefore, Koeman did not take all his best players on a trip to Kiev, including Lionel Messi’s break. In attack, Koeman dared to install Philippe Coutinho, Martin Braithwaite, Pedri and Trincao.
Carles Alena, Junior Firpo, Sergino Dest and Oscar Mingueza played behind. Meanwhile, Antoine Griezmann and several other young Barcelona players are on the bench.
Although they did not field their best team, Barcelona was too tough for Kiev. Barcelona has 16 attempts, seven of which are on goal and control 70 percent of the ball’s possession.
After being balanced without a goal during the first half, Barcelona stepped on the accelerator in the second half to launch four goals against Kiev. Starting with Sergino Dest’s goal, Braithwaite then chipped in two goals, one of them from the penalty spot, before being confirmed by Griezmann at the end of the match.
Barcelona won 4-0 and managed to block tickets for the round of 16 because they have accumulated 12 points in four games. Along with Barcelona, Juventus also managed to advance to a similar round.
Koeman’s decision to rotate the team deserves a thumbs up because it shows that Barcelona’s facing players are just as good.
“We can do better in this game than in others, but the big difference today is that we are fresher,” Koeman said. Reuters.
“We have reason to give rest to some players and to give opportunities to fresher players. We are more solid in the midfield, we show hunger, and we pressure the rival very well,” he continued.
(mrp / krs)
