Ronald Koeman calls out 19-year-old Nico after Atletico Madrid vs Barcelona

Ronald Koeman called out young midfielder Nico Gonzalez after Barcelona’s defeat to Atletico Madrid.

Koeman is a man on the brink after a disastrous run of form for Barca, winning just one of their last six games.

The latest of those outings was a 2-0 defeat to Atletico Madrid in which the home side cruised to a win.

The goals came from Thomas Lemar and former Barca man Luis Suarez, but Koeman was unhappy with the way one of those goals was conceded, in particular.

And after the game, he decided to call out young midfielder Nico, who was making only his second La Liga start of the season at the Wanda Metropolitano.

“You cannot leave so much space when we lost the ball,” Koeman told Movistar. “We had spoken exactly about that, our midfielders needed to follow their men – and Nico let Lemar run for their opening goal.”

Koeman often takes credit for the youth talents he has brought through, and that could be his parting gift in many ways when he does leave.

But amid intense pressure over his position, and with fans keen to see him take responsibility for results, calling out 19-year-old inexperienced players in post-match interviews is not going to do him any favours.