Koeman explains Antoine Griezmann’s omission from Sevilla clash

Barcelona picked up a much-needed three points against Sevilla on Saturday. With this win the club moves up to the second position on the table, two points behind leaders, Atletico Madrid.

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The win was a good morale boost for the team as they will now be more comfortable going into their next meeting against Sevilla in the Copa del Rey. However, one key player who did not take a part in the important victory was Antoine Griezmann. Ronald Koeman later revealed why he did not select the player for the crucial match.

The 29-year-old French forward has been playing some of his best football this season. Although he started the season slowly, he picked up his socks in January and he has been having his best Barcelona season since then. He has already scored 12 goals in all competitions and has also provided 10 assists.

Koeman talks Antoine Griezmann

He has been instrumental for Koeman and the Dutch manager has put a lot of faith in the struggling player. Thus it was disappointing for Griezmann not to feature in the match against Sevilla. Koeman was asked in the post-match conference why the star player was omitted from the team and the manager said that it was purely tactical. He said in the interview,

"“There is no message for Griezmann. We decided to change the system to have depth in the team and that is why we put Dembele upfront. With his replacement, we needed someone faster than Antoine.”Source Goal"

Koeman’s plan worked out quite well as well. He decided to play Dembele upfront along with Lionel Messi and both of his forwards ended up scoring. This will be a blow for the number seven however as Koeman might use the same strategy against Sevilla in the Copa del Rey as well.

However, with the way that Griezmann has been playing, it is unlikely that the manager will keep him out for two matches in a row. They will most likely revert back to their preferred formation with Griezmann on the left, Messi in the middle, and Dembele on the right. Hopefully, the trio can save the team from an embarrassing exit as they are still the favorites to win the tournament.

Should Koeman keep the same lineup that won 2-0 against Sevilla?