Koeman: "Barcelona have to play better, above all without the ball"

Koeman: "Barcelona have to play better, above all without the ball"

Koeman, en el partido ante el Dinamo
Koeman, en el partido ante el Dinamo | sport

The Barça coach spoke after his side's laboured 2-1 win over Dynamo Kyiv

Barcelona coach Ronald Koeman bemoaned his team's performance off the ball after they laboured to a 2-1 win against Dynamo Kyiv in the Champions League. 

"We started the game well, quickly going 1-0 up with the penalty and with chances to score more," he told Movistar. "But little by little we lost control of the game. They created a lot of danger at moments but thanks to Marc (ter Stegen), who was phenomenal (they didn't score more). In the end, 2-1, complicated, above all without the ball was not good today. 

"For me the problem is sometimes you can't press ... and if you do press you leave space to play. If we press, everyone has to press, the defence high, and I think there have been doubts there. They played well and created a lot of danger." 

Asked if this was a trend of a one-off, Koeman added:  "In general, we've been OK defensively. In no game has a team created the danger that they did today. But without the ball we have to improve." 

Ter Stegen made six brilliant saves on his first appearance of the season after returning from a knee problem.  

"Once again he's shown he's a great goalkeeper," Koeman said. "He's had one-week training well and we have seen that he's in form and that's important for the team." 

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