Koeman: 'Messi and De Jong needed a break'

"Despite the absence of many players in first leg, Dynamo Kyiv played a good match," Ronald Koeman told a pre-match press conference on Monday. The Barça coach also referred to the reasons why Leo Messi and Frenkie de Jong weren't in the squad: "The situation in the Champions League is quite comfortable and they both need to rest."

Asked about tomorrow's match, Koeman said that it is necessary to take a step forward and get a good result: "Tomorrow is a match in which we must take advantage and take a step forward in our ambitions to qualify for the next phase.” The coach was also positive for what's to come in the next few weeks: "Looking at the schedule for the next set of matches, I'm optimistic that by the end of the year we'll be at the top of the standings."

On Umtiti, Koeman said: "We know that Umtiti has been injured for a long time, but we hope that in two weeks we can count on him. He needs to recover well." Regarding the possible debut of Mingueza, the Dutchman explained that "in the event of injuries we always give options to other players and he is one of them."