Barcelona sack coach Ronald Koeman after losing to Rayo Vallecano

Striker Memphis Depay may have prevented his compatriot from being sacked – but the Netherlands international failed with a penalty kick on Rayo goalkeeper Stoll Dimitrievsky and missed the equaliser (72).

Ten days into the game and their third league defeat of the season, Barcelona are stagnant at 15 points in the middle of the table. At the end of the week, Barcelona lost El Clasico at home to Real Madrid (1:2). In addition, Barcelona did not win any of their first four away matches in the league – the last time was in 1991-92 under Johan Cruyff.

In addition, Barcelona scored only a weak goal away from home – with the exception of the league (with Getafe).

Is Xavi taking charge now?

According to the club’s announcement, Koeman will bid farewell to his players on Thursday at Ciudad Sportiva. It is not yet clear who will take over the Barcelona coach on a temporary basis – veteran Sergei Bajoran is an option. Club legend Xavi (Al Sadd Sports Club) and Marcelo Gallardo (River Plate) have been named successors in Spain.

Koeman took over as Barcelona coach after Quique Setien for the 2020/2021 season and won the King’s Cup in his first season, but missed the league title (3rd). In the Champions League, Barcelona were eliminated in the round of 16 against Paris Saint-Germain (1:4, 1:1).

In the current season, Barcelona lost two games 0-3 against Bayern Munich and Benfica in the preliminary round, in addition to a 1-0 victory over Dynamo Kiev at their expense. During Koeman’s tenure, Barcelona had to deal with the departures of Luis Suarez, Lionel Messi and Antoine Griezmann.

With an average of 1.96 points per competitive game, Koeman (67 games) is only in the Barcelona coach’s midfield – far behind Ernesto Valverde (2.23), Pep Guardiola (2.36), Luis Enrique (2.41) and Tito Villaova (2.52).