Barcelona manager Ronald did himself no favours by leaving wantaway star Lionel Messi on the sidelines on Tuesday night, as the Catalan side were held to a 1-1 draw against Eibar. The Dutchman admitted it will now be “very difficult” for his side to win this season’s La Liga. “I am realistic, it will be very difficult to be champions. Nothing is impossible, but you have to acknowledge the gap. Atletico look very good to me, very strong, they don’t concede many goals,” Koeman said, who refused to blame the absence of Messi on the dropped points. “You cannot say Barca play better without Messi. He is a different player. In general terms we played well. But individual errors cost us the points,” he said. [COMMENT BY: Matthew Smith, Sports Editor]
AFP