The night that Ronald Koeman punished Antoine Griezmann
The Dutchman benched him after no goals or assists in his last six games
Antoine Griezmann’s bad performances have worn Ronald Koeman’s patience down. The Dutch coach benched him in the first game of the year. He already substituted him against Eibar in the previous match, showing he was fed up of Griezmann’s performance. His numbers are getting worse. Last season he scored 15 in 48 games. 0.29 per game. Ridiculously bad for a player who cost 135 million euros.
It was expected he would improve in his second year, especially with the arrival of a new coach and Luis Suarez leaving. But it has not been the case. The opposite. He’s gone from bad to worse. In 19 games he has scored five goals, with that average down to 0.26 goals per game. He’s only given two assists too. So it’s not strange he was benched, he’s not good enough to start.
It’s a Barca still dependent on Leo Messi. They started 2021 off well with a decent win at Huesca. They dominated the game easily, especially in the first half, with Messi the catalyst for their play. It was his 750th game, 500th in La Liga, and he showed he is still the club’s spiritual and footballing leader. But this Barca struggle to kill games off. There could have been a rout but they ended up calling for the game to end. De Jong’s goal was enough for three points but not enough to dispel the doubts about Koeman’s side. Messi, however good he may be, is not enough.
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