It would be an understatement to say that Barcelona have been on a downward spiral. The Catalonian club’s woes began a couple of years ago under the reign of ex-President Josep Maria Bartomeu. Bartomeu’s wayward allocation of resources resulted in the Spanish side ending up in a financial crisis.

The worst outcome of the crisis has been the loss of Lionel Messi as the club couldn’t afford to renew his contract. Ever since his departure, even the club’s on-field performances have nosedived.

Ronald Koeman accepts his job is on the line after embarrassing defeat against Benfica

Last night, Barcelona lost 3-0 to Benfica in embarrassing fashion. In fact, this is their second loss in the group stage of the Champions League in as many matches. Barca sit at the bottom of Group E and are in real danger of going out of the competition at this early stage.

Their performances under the Dutchman, Ronald Koeman, have come under intense scrutiny. There have been murmurs of Koeman getting the boot in the Spanish media and the pressure to deliver has never been higher on the Dutchman. Acknowledging this in the post-match presser, he said, “We have lost and the future of the coach in this world (is in doubt). You have to accept that and if you don’t, then it’s better to leave”

“The result is hard to take” Barcelona boss sounds dejected after Benfica loss

Darwin Nunez opened the scoring for Benfica in the third minute of the match. Despite conceding so early, Koeman felt that his team responded well. “The result is hard to take.” “I don’t think it’s a fair reflection. After conceding so early we responded well but we couldn’t score.”

The Dutchman then went on to acknowledge the fact that the current Barcelona is not the team of the past. “They are very quick and strong. There are a lot of teams stronger than us. This is not the team of years gone by. It’s crystal clear,” he said.

Will Barcelona make it out of the Champions League group stage?

Also Read: Barcelona Manager Connects Poor Performance to Lionel Messi