Lenglet had to be replaced during the second half when he suffered an ankle injury following an aerial challenge against Osasuna’s Ruben Garcia.
Koeman replaced Lenglet with Carles Alena
Ronald Koeman hopes Clement Lenglet’s injury isn’t serious after the defender was forced off during the 4-0 win over Osasuna on Sunday. Lenglet had to be replaced during the second half when he suffered an ankle injury following an aerial challenge against Osasuna’s Ruben Garcia. Barça were already short in defensive options, with center-backs Gerard Pique, Samuel Umtiti and Ronald Araujo ruled out with injuries, leaving Koeman no choice but to attract Carles Alena to replace Lenglet. While Koeman isn’t sure if the 25-year-old will be able to play against Ferencváros in the Champions League mid-week, he doesn’t expect to be without the France international for too long. “I talked to the doctor, and it looks like we will have to wait for tests tomorrow. But it does not seem that that is serious,” he told reporters.
Oscar Mingueza must learn and improve
“I don’t know about Wednesday’s match, but I hope it’s nothing serious,” the coach called on 21-year-old defender Oscar Mingueza to partner Lenglet in the centre of the backline to cover the injuries. Minguez made his senior Champions League debut, victory against Dynamo Kyiv in mid-week, and Koeman was pleased with his second show for the Blaugrana. “I told him that he played well, but he lost the ball twice in areas where you can’t lose it,” he added. “We were talking about it. One bad touch can lead to a chance for an opponent. A good game can be played, but two mistakes can cost you the match. He must learn and improve.”
The result puts Barça in seventh place in LaLiga with 14 points from nine games. They are nine points adrift of leaders Real Sociedad and Atletico Madrid and Koeman realize they must climb up. “Our situation in the table is still tough, and we are several points behind,” he said. “We have six games, four at home, between this and the end of the year. We can’t lose more. If a team is playing poorly, it can be difficult, and we saw that with Real Madrid yesterday. Atlético are very strong and are not failing at the moment, but a lot more can still happen.”