Koeman under direct attack for no ‘tiki taka’ at Barcelona

By TALES AZZONI
AP Sports Writer

MADRID (AP) — There were no signs of Barcelona’s famous “tiki-taka” style of ball possession in the team’s 1-1 draw against Granada in the Spanish league on Monday. The Catalan club escaped defeat thanks to a 90th-minute equalizer by Araújo. The team was jeered by many of the 27,000 fans at the Camp Nou Stadium after the final whistle. It didn’t take long before critics started to attack coach Ronald Koeman for relinquishing the club’s traditional passing game. “What kind of Barcelona is this?” read the front-page headline of the sports daily Marca. Koeman said he can’t get his team to play that way when several players are injured and out of action.