Even Koeman finds this Barcelona team boring
Barça win another Champions League game for a clean sweep of three wins from three games and maximum points in the bag. It seems odds-on that the Catalan giants will progress to the next stage of the competition. It has to be said though, that the current style of play is far from exciting and what we say last night against Dynamo was frankly dull. It even appears to bore manager Koeman. The Dutch coach sits on the bench, walks in his technical area, spits on the ground. It appears that he's in the middle of nowhere waiting for train that never comes and surrounded by a group of undesirables. He looks on at the action with a sense of disdain. A strange manner for the new club coach to behave, a coach who so many are looking to turn things around at the club.
Last night's opponents were a team ravaged by positive coronavirus cases with many saying that countries in the East of Europe are treating the virus in a less serious manner. Dynamo managed to put together 13 players which avoided the game being suspended and it's not unfair to say that Barça only played well for the first 15 minutes. Messi bagged an early goal from the spot and Griezmann missed a sitter. From then on, the team were not at the races and relied on a dazzling display from Ter Stegen. Fortunately for Barça, Piqué latched onto a Ansu Fati centre to double the advantage with the 2-0 scoreline offering a cushion. Kiev got a late consolation goal and Ter Stegen was at hand to keep the visitors at bay.
Things were so different in Seville! Krasnodar were ahead 1-2 with Sevilla reduced to 10 men on the stroke of half-time. The ten men dug deep and managed to turn things around in a gritty display based on effort. Lopetegui cuts a very different figure to Koeman on the touchline. The Basque coach was a constant source of intensity which he managed to transmit to his side. He's transformed this Sevilla into a dominant force who play with a high tempo in every area of the pitch, but not in a headless manner but with a decent level of football. They do struggle to find the target which is more a reflection on the budget available to the coach as opposed to a criticism of Lopetegui but last night they pushed and pushed and got their just reward.