Barcelona, Sep 23 (IANS) FC Barcelona coach Ernesto Valverde is under pressure to keep his job in the aftermath of the team’s harrowing defeat against Granada on Saturday, media reports said.
According to a ESPN source based report, “a number of Barcelona players have begun to lose confidence” in their head coach after succumbing to their second defeat of the season.
“Something strange is happening. The team is playing without intensity and they’re not creating anything,” one source close to the dressing room was quoted as saying by ESPN.
The report also said that sources close to Barcelona President Josep Maria Bartomeu have told ESPN that Valverde loses his nerve and makes impulsive decisions.
Valverde has a contract until 2021. On Saturday, Barcelona’s all-time top scorer Lionel Messi started from the bench and came on as a halftime substitute as they suffered a shock 0-2 defeat against Granada.
The result saw the newly promoted Granada climb to the top of the points table with 10 points from five matches.
Meanwhile, this was reigning champion Barcelona’s worst start to a season in 25 years as they remained seventh in the table with seven points from five outings. Barcelona next take on Villarreal at home on Tuesday.
–IANS
dm/arm