Koeman aiming for a new striker for Barcelona

manager

Ronald Koeman

believed what they lacked in those 20 attempts for goal in the 1-0 victory over

was a target forward, and he is encouraging the club to recruit a new striker.

Lionel Messi

has come back after the injury he was struggling with and his manager chose to set him in the attack with Martin Braithwaite and Ousmane Dembele.

The three players have pushed for a goal 15 times, however,

Frenkie de Jong

was the one who finally found the target from Messi’s pass for his side.

Barcelona boss played Antoine Griezmann to replace Braithwaite a few minutes before the time and revealed his desire in recruiting a gifted striker to play in the line between the legends Messi and Dembele.

"

I trust each player in our squad,

" Koeman said. "

But if we choose to have three midfielders there is room for three forwards.

"With Leo we bet on someone with great depth like Dembele, and we have to choose between Martin or Antoine at the top and Martin has done it.

"It's a nine that we're missing in these games but it doesn't mean anything in regards to Antoine's substitution. We have a lot of games and we need all the players.

"We have said several times, at the beginning of the season, that we need someone at the top to have more competition and more goals, more effectiveness, but this depends on many things

."

According to Koeman, strengthening their striking choices will take the pressure off Barcelona’s defence that took in a lot of attacks in the clash against Huesca. In order to prevent nervous late spells, the squad must seal their game at an earlier stage.

"

The second half was not so brilliant,

" admitted Koeman.

"

In the end we suffer a little because they have tried to create and there have been crosses where we have defended well. If you don't close out the game earlier, you always suffer."

When asked about games ahead of Barcelona, Koeman added: "

This month is very important for our aspirations because we have many away games and if we win them I think we can fight.

"We have come out strong, very focused, and that is the main base we need. If we have those two things we will improve with the ball and if we can also improve in front of goal we can have a very important and good year."

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