BILBAO (Reuters) - Barcelona coach Ronald Koeman was glowing with pride after his side’s 3-2 win over Athletic Bilbao on Wednesday and said the performance was a benchmark for the remainder of the season. I felt like we controlled the game the whole time and there were barely any dips in our play,” Koeman told a news conference. There can be injuries, teams can have downturns and a side that looks very good can end up struggling,” he said. The Dutchman also praised Messi, who produced arguably his best performance of the season and was unlucky not to grab a hat trick. “He has always shown us his skill and his commitment but today he gave us his goals too.”On 18-year-old playmaker Pedri, Koeman added: “He plays with so much maturity despite his age and most importantly he uses his head.”

Source: Egypt Today January 07, 2021 00:33 UTC