BARCELONA: Barcelona manager Ronald Koeman feels the club needs to sign a new striker after they scored just once from 20 shots on goal in a 1-0 victory over Huesca on Sunday. Lionel Messi returned to the Barcelona side after recovering from an ankle injury and Koeman opted to play him in attack alongside Martin Braithwaite and Ousmane Dembele.
The trio attempted 15 shots between them but it was Frenkie de Jong who scored the decisive goal, volleying Messi's chipped pass into the net after 27 minutes. "I trust each player in our squad. But if we choose to have three midfielders there is room for three forwards. With Leo we bet on someone with great depth like Dembele, and we have to choose between Martin or Antoine at the top and Martin has done it," Goal.com quoted Koeman as saying.
"It's a nine that we're missing in these games but it doesn't mean anything in regards to Antoine's substitution. We have a lot of games and we need all the players. We have said several times, at the beginning of the season, that we need someone at the top to have more competition and more goals, more effectiveness, but this depends on many things," he added.
Barcelona was on target with just seven of their 20 shots at goal and Koeman said they must close games out earlier to avoid nervous late spells. "The second half was not so brilliant. In the end, we suffer a little because they have tried to create and there have been crosses where we have defended well. If you don't close out the game earlier, you always suffer," Koeman said.