Koeman: Barcelona can draw some conclusions from games in Germany

The 4-0 win over Nastic de Tarragona at the Estadi Johan Cruyff left Barcelona coach Ronald Koeman feeling positive as his team got their pre-season campaign underway.

The Dutchman was not getting carried away, though, insisting that the early fixtures this summer serve a purpose to gain fitness.

"What's important is that everyone played 45 minutes, which is something important physically," Koeman said.

"We've dominated and got a good result; the game has left us with positives.

"I see my players looking good. They've returned well, we've trained intensely, this morning too.

"We need to gain fitness. With two different teams, both could show their quality."

Koeman spoke of the importance of upcoming games, with a tie against Girona on Saturday ahead of a trip to Germany to face Stuttgart.

"On Saturday we'll have more players, we haven't had much time to all train together," he explained.

"In Germany [and Austria] we'll have good games, against high-level opponents [Stuttgart and Red Bull Salzburg], where we can draw some conclusions from the games."

This was also the first time that Barcelona played in front of fans since March 2019.

"It was strange to have people there, but luckily there were," Koeman reacted.

"I love having fans, and so do the players. They help us and we really needed it."

Rey Manaj scored a hat-trick for Barcelona as they started their pre-season with a strong display.