Koeman: I feel supported by the Barcelona players

A 3-0 defeat to Benfica has left Ronald Koeman teetering on the brink at Barcelona, yet the Dutch coach has made clear that he feels supported by his players.

Both Sergio Busquets and Frenkie de Jong spoke in the aftermath of the humiliation in Lisbon, defending the former Everton coach, but that will be of little interest to fans who are watching Los Cules' season implode.

"I feel supported by my players and their attitude," Koeman declared in his post-match press conference.

"I can only comment on my work with the team.

"I don't know about the rest, I don't know about the club."

Despite the heavy defeat, Koeman looked to take some positives out of the evening, suggesting that his team played well until the second Benfica goal.

"The final result is hard to accept, it's not the result we saw on the pitch," he confirmed.

"I think the team played well until 2-0, we had very clear opportunities to score.

"That's how you change the game; if they score one of their few chances and get three goals, then there is a big difference."

Barcelona failed to muster a shot on target during the 90 minutes and have lost their first two group games for the first time since the Champions League started.

‘This is not the team of years gone by. It’s crystal clear,’ added Koeman.

‘The result is hard to take. I don’t think it’s a fair reflection. After conceding so early we responded well but we couldn’t score.

‘They are very quick and strong and we were. There are a lot teams stronger than us.’

Koeman and Joan Laporta's relationship has been reported to be troublesome and results like Wednesday's will do little to improve that, however Koeman refused to be drawn on whether this was his worst moment as a coach.

"For any coach it is always difficult. Being at Barcelona, if you don't win two Champions League games, it's a delicate situation. I completely understand," he continued.

"It's trying to change things and you have to give the team time. There are footballing things where we are inferior, physically and in terms of speed.

"Where we have to win is with the players we have, with our style, our way, possession and chances created.

"We have done that here, but if you don't score then you don't win. Winning gives you peace of mind, but I accept that when you lose the future of the coach is in question. That's the world we live in."

Asked why he took Gerard Pique off after 33 minutes he added: ‘We were lucky that he didn’t show him a second yellow card. We could not afford that and Frenkie was able to give us that pressure. But if you can’t score it’s difficult.’