Barça coach Koeman defends Lenglet following abuse for Cadiz error

Barça coach Koeman defends Lenglet following abuse for Cadiz error

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Lenglet gave away a penalty on Sunday which cost his side two points in the title race

Barcelona coach Ronald Koeman defender Clement Lenglet ahead of Wednesday's game against Elche following the penalty he gave away in Sunday's draw against Cadiz.

Lenglet's error cost Barça two points and meant they dropped to fourth in La Liga, below Sevilla, who have risen to third.

It's been a tough few days for Lenglet, with a lot of criticism following his error, but Koeman wanted to praise his professionalism.

"I spoke with Clement this morning," he said. "He's a very good professional and he's taken this very personally. As I said before, one player's not to blame for dropped points.

"Of course he could do better but we also made other mistakes with other players, like in attack. At 2-0, a last-minute mistake isn't as decisive."

Asked if Lenglet will start against Elche, Koeman added: "They're decisions a coach has to make. The player has to be convinced and show confidence in themselves and it also depends on the physical and mental state of each player, not necessarily Clement, but everyone."

With Araujo still out, Lenglet is likely to start the game against Elche at Camp Nou on Wednesday ahead of a big seven days for the Catalan club.

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