Barcelona lost to Benfica 3-0 in their second consecutive defeat in the Champions League last night. It was also their second successive defeat by a three-goal margin, and having no goals scored. The momentum that the team had built from their 3-0 win against Levante now seems to have completely died out.
Ronald Koeman is now seemingly on his way out of the club, with several candidates in talks with Barcelona to replace him as the new coach. Among the names discussed to replace the Dutchman are Xavi, Erik Ten Hag and Andrea Pirlo. The board is currently in discussions to change the manager of the club, and will sack Koeman once an agreement has been found.
In the league, Barcelona are currently sixth in the table with 12 points from six games. They have a game in hand on the teams at the top, and if they win it, they will have the chance to be in third place with 15 points. Their fate in the Champions League is not appreciable, since they are currently in last place with no points from their first two games.
The goal difference is -6 due to them conceding three goals in two games, and scoring none for themselves. Their next two games in the Champions League are against Dynamo Kyiv, followed by Benfica and Bayern Munich at the Allianz Stadium.
According to rumours, Xavi is the favourite candidate for the board to lead the team after Koeman. But, Laporta’s relation with the former midfielder is not the best due to his support for Victor Font in the presidential campaign, and it now remains to be seen whether Laporta and Xavi will be able to reach an agreement to improve the club’s performance on the pitch.
