Barcelona were held to a 3-3 draw by Levante in a crucial match for the Blaugrana to boost their chances of winning LaLiga this season. Leo Messi, Pedri and Ousmane Dembele were on target for Barcelona, who walked into the dugout with a 2-0 lead.
However, the second half saw Levante refusing to give up and fight back, with two goals in two minutes thanks to Gonzalo Melero and Jose Luis Morales. Ousmane Dembele put Barcelona ahead only five minutes after Levante’s equaliser. However, Sergio Leon would cancel out the Frenchman’s strike in the 83rd minute.
The slip up sees Barcelona remain with 76 points from 36 games, a point behind Atletico Madrid with 77 with a game in hand, and Real Madrid, who have a game to play as well. Ronald Koeman’s future at Barcelona has been thrown into doubt following the draw, here is what he said post-match:
“Coaches are always being scrutinised but after a second half like that I’ll understand if there are questions about me,” the Dutchman told reporters.
“We’re very disappointed and asking ourselves what happened in the second half. But we have to move on and try to prepare for next season.”
“We were good in the first half, we played with pace and intensity and got ahead but we lost a lot of balls in dangerous positions in the second half and made lots of errors in defence,” Koeman said.
“We reacted after it was 2-2 and got the goal but we made it too easy for them to score. Conceding three times in 45 minutes is not the level you expect from Barca.”
This goes to show the pressures of coaching a club of the stature of Barcelona, who are always expected to win. Koeman led the club to the Copa del Rey trophy this season, but his exits from the Champions League and potentially the league title race could spell some serious uncertainty over his future in the coming months.
