Ronald Koeman: Antoine Griezmann's Champions League absence meant nothing ahead of El Clasico

ByEurosport

Updated 21/10/2020 at 08:41 GMT

Trincao impressed against Ferencvaros as Barcelona claimed a comfortable 4-1 win in which Lionel Messi, Ansu Fati, Philippe Coutinho, Pedri and Ousmane Dembele all found the net, but Koeman has denied the team selection hints at his thoughts ahead of the first Clasico of the season.

Ronald Koeman has insisted Antoine Griezmann’s absence from the Barcelona team for the Champions League win over Ferencvaros “means nothing” ahead of Saturday’s clash against Real Madrid.

The French forward was left on the bench for the Catalans’ Champions League curtain raiser against the Hungarian champions at the Camp Nou, with Francisco Trincao selected in his place.

"Griezmann hasn't played, but it means nothing in the face of El Clasico,” the former Everton and Southampton boss said after the match. “Each game we choose the best XI possible. We'll see. On Saturday we have another game.”

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Koeman on whether Griezmann will play in El Clasico

Having admitted Messi performances this season “could be better,” Koeman was full of praise for the Argentine who was somewhere close to his best against Ferencvaros.

“Messi is hungry, he's disciplined, he trains a lot,” the Dutchman said, pouring cold water on any suggestion that Messi isn’t committed to the cause. “That keeps him at this level and it's a pleasure to have the best player in the world at Barca.”

Teenagers Ansu and Pedri also came in for high praise after finding the back of the net against Ferencvaros, with the former scoring his fourth goal of the season in just five appearances for Barcelona.

“We can be very happy with their evolution. They will soon be 18 and they'll have a great future at this club,” expressed Koeman who also highlighted what pleased him most about the Champions League victory.

"I'm happy. The only thing to be unhappy about is that we slowed down a bit” he said. “We can create chances against any team.

“I'm not worried about Saturday. We played a good game today, but it was difficult for us to get into the game and set the pace. The first 20/25 minutes of the second half we saw a great Barca.”

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