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Barcelona will take on Juventus in their final group game of the UEFA Champions League tonight. Both sides will look to assert their superiority in the group but for the world, it is the reunion between Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.
Without further ado, let's take a look at the top stories involving Barcelona from 8 December 2020.
Cadiz manager takes dig at Ronald Koeman after shock win
Freshly promoted Cadiz handed Barcelona their fourth loss of the season on Saturday. They registered a 2-1 win over Barcelona at the Estadio Ramón de Carranza and now their manager has taken a sly dig at Koeman for having played Coutinho ahead of Dembele.
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Cervera said,
“We had the luck that Dembele didn’t start and Koeman didn’t use pure wingers. It wasn’t a relief but for me, my way of seeing things, I liked Dembele more. He’s one of the few who can get you to that touchline. Coutinho is not so much of an individual and you can defend him as a team.”
Coutinho was proven to be ineffective in the first half and was taken off for Dembele in the second. However, the Frenchman ended up picking up a hamstring injury which will now see him spend a while on the sidelines.
Cervera was amused by yet another decision of Koeman's which he believes worked in their favour.
“I’m surprised he took off Dest. He’s a very fast player who can go deep. And when he put on Trincao we knew that they were going to be playing even more centrally. And on top of that we saw an opportunity because we knew Trincao would not going to defend well on that side and put on someone fast who could do them damage. It helped us because when Barcelona get to the touchline they are very dangerous.”
Miralem Pjanic says he does not understand why he is not playing
After joining from Juventus, midfielder Miralem Pjanic has seen game time come at a premium at Barcelona under Ronald Koeman. Pjanic was initially sidelined after suffering from Covid-19 and missing the pre-season. However, he continues to be absent from the starting lineup despite being in training for way over two months now.
Pjanic told Gazzetta dello Sport:
“Should I play more? Yes, and that is what I want. Honestly, I don’t even understand the reason for this situation. It is clear that I want to play a lot more. I know I can give a lot, and when the coach calls me, I always answer. I did well, I played good games. More than that, I do not know what else I could do. I’m training, I’m ready.
“I’m not satisfied and I can’t be, in my career I’ve never accepted the idea of not playing and I don’t even do it now. We will see, but I’m ready, I’m training well and waiting, I can’t do anything else. It is a very delicate situation.”
Barcelona to offer Coutinho in exchange for Dybala
According to reports, Barcelona are keen on bringing Paulo Dybala to the Camp Nou and could offer Philippe Coutinho in exchange for his services. Barcelona have previously shown interest in Paulo Dybala but Juventus have always rejected their advances.
However, Dybala has now fallen down the pecking order under Andrea Pirlo after performing poorly and hence, the deal looks more plausible than ever now.
