Barcelona welcome Cadiz to Camp Nou in La Liga tomorrow afternoon looking to bounce back from their disappointment midweek against Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League. Ronald Koeman‘s side took a 4-1 beating at the hands of the French champions, with the lithe and unstoppable Kylian Mbappe serving as the antithesis to the lethargic Catalans.
For Koeman, focus is honed in on taking each game as it comes and not allowing the squad to think too far ahead. They’re still alive, if just, in La Liga, the Copa del Rey and the Champions League. “The main objective is the next game,” he said pre-match in comments carried by Diario AS. “Before Sevilla [in the Copa semi-final second leg] we have to play three games, and tomorrow’s is very important, especially after what happened. And then Elche on Wednesday. The goal is to win every game.”
Koeman was asked about the highly publicised shouting match between Antoine Griezmann and Gerard Pique during the PSG match. “During the match there is a lot of tension and these things happen,” he said. “It’s good to have people who react if they’re not happy, there’s no time to use manners. I have no problems with things like that happening during the game, I like it. After the game is something else. I don’t like players who are quiet, and there are moments of high tension during a match.”
Given Atletico Madrid lost 2-0 to Levante on Saturday afternoon, prospects of a title race have become a whole lot healthier. Should Barcelona beat Cadiz they go just six points behind Atletico, and could climb above Real Madrid depending on how Los Blancos do this evening.