DINAMO KIEV - BARCELONA | KOEMAN
Koeman: "Messi needs to rest"
Barcelona's coach confirmed that the Argentinean and Frenkie de Jong will both be rested for tomorrow's Champions League meeting with Dinamo Kiev.
Update: November 23rd, 2020 07:42 EST
Servicio Ilustrado (Automático)MIGUEL RUIZ/FCB
Barcelona fly out to Kiev for Tuesday's Champions League meeting with Dinamo and with the aim of putting the recent defeat to Atletico behind them. Ronald Koeman previewed the game in the company of the press, ad explained the surprise decision to leave Leo Messi out of the list of players who will be making the trip to Ukraine.
What kind of game are you expecting tomorrow? "If we don't play well, Dinamo can complicate things for us. We had chances to score at the weekend but we didn't take them and that's an area we need to improve on".
Why has Messi been left out of the squad? "We decided not to Leo and Frenkie because our position in our Champions League group is fairly comfortable, we have nine points, and both of them needed a rest".
Umtiti: "Hopefully he will be back with the team in a couple of weeks. His last game was last season, he's been out for six or seven months and he needs time".
Araújo: "He was an option as we only have Lenglet solo. Araújo has been training apart. We're not going to take any risks as we want to be sure that he is fully fit".
Matheus' first inclusion in the list: "When everyone is fit there is a lot of competition. He's been included because he's training well and deserves a place".
Piqué's injury: "We're talking about a very experienced central defender, so obviously it's a very big loss for us. It's sad for the player, for the team, the club, for everyone.But we have to accept it and see how we get around it".
Messi is an extravagance which Barça can no longer afford
FC Dinamo Kiev
Gerard Piqué