Barcelona failed to record a single shot on target in their defeat by Bayern Munich in an unwanted first for the club in the Champions League… as Ronald Koeman pins the blame on his lack of options after setback
- Barcelona fell to a 3-0 defeat by Bayern Munich in a poor start to the group stage
- The hosts were comfortably beaten on the night, having failed to shoot on target
- Memphis Depay partnered Luuk de Jong up front but both was kept largely quiet
- Ronald Koeman looked to pin the blame on his threadbare squad after the game
Barcelona set an unwanted first in the Champions League defeat by Bayern Munich last night, having failed to record a single shot on target.
The LaLiga club were well beaten at the Nou Camp, having lost 3-0 after a horror performance, and barely threatened their opponents in attack.
This saw them struggle to carve out chances and, as a result, they were not able to test goalkeeper Manuel Neuer, or score, for the whole game.
Barcelona didn’t record a shot on target in their Champions League loss by Bayern Munich
Ronald Koeman rued his lack of options after his team’s nightmare start to the group stage
Manager Ronald Koeman rued his threadbare squad at full-time, insisting he had just three forwards to choose from.
Luuk de Jong was partnered with Memphis Depay, who has proved a small glimmer of hope for the team in their post-Lionel Messi era.
But both strikers found themselves feeding off scraps, and Bayern eased to all three points after Thomas Muller’s opener and Robert Lewandowski’s double.
The hosts were well beaten on the night, having let in three and barely threatened in attack
The result has left Barcelona at the bottom of the group after the first round of fixtures, and further ramps up the pressure on Koeman.
‘Of course we would have liked to compete better but there is a difference in their quality as a team [and ours],’ Koeman said.
‘There was a big difference between the benches too. We have lots of players with a big future but right now we need players back from injury.’
He went on to add: ‘We started well but we had problems getting forward. We were unlucky with the first goal and from their second goal it was very difficult.
Robert Lewandowski netted twice in the clash to pile even more pressure on manager Koeman
‘Right now they are a better team than us.
‘This is where we are right now. Jordi Alba was ill last night and still played. This was Luuk De Jong’s first game.
‘Alba was very tired and we didn’t want to risk him playing the whole game.’
A banner reading ‘Koeman Out’ was displayed before kick-off in a clear indication of rising tensions, but it was removed by club staff.
Luuk de Jong had partnered Memphis Depay up front for Barcelona in their limp performance
Meanwhile, Gerard Pique looked to focus on the very few positives from the loss, with four teenagers on the field for Barcelona by full-time.
‘We competed in the first half and their goal comes from a deflection,’ Pique said.
‘The team did not hide and we had young players making their debuts in the Champions League. I feel sure we will end up competing.
‘We have Ansu (Fati), Ousmane (Dembele) and Kun (Aguero) still to come back from injury. We are clearly not among the favourites for the Champions League right now.’
