‘I don’t think changing the coach can solve anything’: Frenkie De Jong backs Ronald Koeman and insists under fire Barcelona boss should NOT be sacked – despite just THREE wins in eight games
- Barcelona are rock bottom of their Champions League group with two defeats
- Spanish giants lost 3-0 to Benfica and are yet to score in the competition
- Calls are now arriving for manager Ronald Koeman to be sacked from his role
- Midfielder Frenkie De Jong says changing the manager would not solve anything
Barcelona’s crisis appears to be worsening by the week, though star midfielder Frenkie De Jong says sacking manager Ronald Koeman would change nothing.
Barca have just three wins from eight matches in all competitions this season, sitting both well adrift in LaLiga and rock bottom of their Champions League group as a result.
On Wednesday night Barca plummeted to new lows after being humiliated in a 3-0 defeat to Portuguese outfit Benfica, in a match in which they were toothless in front of goal and hapless in defence, with summer signing Eric Garcia getting sent off.
Frenkie De Jong insists sacking Ronald Koeman would not solve anything for Barca right now
Barca are falling behind in Europe and have just three wins from six in LaLiga
The pressure has cranked up tenfold on Koeman now, yet his playmaker and fellow Dutchman De Jong insists that sacking him would not ‘solve anything.’
Speaking to reporters following the full-time whistle in Portugal, a dejected De Jong said: ‘I can’t talk about Koeman, it’s not for me to say.
‘I don’t think changing the coach can solve anything.
‘We are trying everything, working hard in training, we are trying our best on the field but today was not our day, that is clear.’
Darwin Nunez hit a brace as Barca left Portugal with their tails between their legs
Barca have now lost their opening two European matches to Bayern Munich and Benfica, each by 3-0 scorelines, and run the real risk of being eliminated from the competition.
Nonetheless, veteran star and club captain Sergio Busquets also agreed with De Jong’s sentiments, outlining that a knee-jerk reaction to now sack Koeman would simply be ‘the easy thing.’
He said: ‘In the end the easy thing is to [sack Koeman]. But we all have a responsibility. We are in a critical situation.’
