Ronald Koeman Has Said Barcelona Will Not Win The Champions League After Two Consecutive 3-0 Defeats

Barcelona boss Ronald Koeman has conceded the club will not win the Champions League after the Blaugrana lost 3-0 to Benfica.

After being beaten convincingly by Bayern Munich in the opening group stage, Barca slipped to another dismal defeat to pile more pressure on under-fire Koeman ahead of the Atletico Madrid.

Darwin Nunez opened the scoring early on before notching a second from the spot ten minutes after Rafa Silva doubled the lead in the second half.

To complete the miserable evening, Eric Garcia was sent off late on for two yellow cards.

Barca are an absolute mess at the moment and even Koeman, their manager at the time of writing, doesn't think they will be lifting the Champions League this term.

Speaking after becoming the first Barca manager to lose their first two Champions League games of the campaign, Koeman said: "Of course we can do better, but we will not win the Champions League."

Barca's last Champions League win came in 2015 when they won a stunning treble under Luis Enrique but the Catalan outfit have now gone five games without winning in Europe's premier club competition.

"This is not the team of years gone by. It's crystal clear," Koeman admitted, as per the Daily Mail.

"The result is hard to take. I don't think it's a fair reflection. After conceding so early we responded well but we couldn't score.

"They are very quick and strong. There are a lot teams stronger than us."

With Barca in sixth and five points behind Real Madrid, Koeman is under enormous pressure going into the Atletico Madrid game at the weekend and may not even be in charge for that fixture.

He said post-match that he felt the players were behind him but added he "didn't know" if the board were.

However, Frenkie de Jong backed his compatriot and manager, saying: “I don’t think changing the coach is the solution.

"I can’t talk about Koeman, it’s not my place. We have to keep fighting, stay together and overcome this situation."

Roberto Martinez and Xavi are the two leading contenders to replace Koeman should he be given the boot.

Featured Image Credit: Image: RTL

Topics: Champions League, Ronald Koeman, Barcelona, Benfica

Josh Lawless

Josh is a sports journalist who specialises in football and wrestling. He has been published by Curzon Ashton FC, Late Tackle, Manchester City FC, The Mirror, Read Man City and Manchester Evening News. He provides coverage of professional wrestling and has interviewed some of the biggest names in the field - including the first UK interview with The Hardy Boyz after their return to WWE. He has never sported a pair of Lonsdale Slip-ons, contrary to reports.

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