Barcelona coach Koeman: Athletic Bilbao set-piece ability hurt us

Football
18 Jan 2021 • 7:55 AM MYT
Tribal Football
Tribal Football

Tribal Football covers news from the Premier League, LaLiga and Serie A

Barcelona coach Ronald Koeman admits they struggled with Athletic Bilbao's set pieces for their Supercopa de Espana final defeat.

Barca were stunned 3-2 as the match went into extra time.

One of Barca's downfalls came in giving away freekicks out wide, with Asier Villalibre equalising from one to take the tie to extra time.

"It's skill on the opponent's behalf to know how to draw fouls and the players that they have [can be dangerous from set pieces]," Koeman said.

"It often happens to us, we don't have tall players."

Koeman had said before the game that winning a trophy would be a good step in Barcelona's development as a team.

"It's not a step backwards," he added after defeat to Athletic.

"A trophy goes to show that you're on the right track. We're going to show that we're still [on the right track].

"We did everything to win the game, both teams were very tired."