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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Sport
Uche Amako

Philippe Coutinho admits "a lot of tension" at Barcelona amid "difficult" period

Barcelona attacker Philippe Coutinho admits there is tension within the squad after a poor start to the league which has left them down in ninth place.

The Catalans have two games in hand on most teams but have suffered four defeats in their 10 matches so far.

And on Saturday they were well below par as Cadiz stunned them with former Spain and Manchester City striker Alvaro Negredo scoring in a 2-1 win.

Star man Lionel Messi has been short of his all-conquering best amid ongoing dissatisfaction with life at the Nou Camp, Gerard Pique is out for several months through injury and recently appointed manager Ronald Koeman struggled to unite a club in decline.

Philippe Coutinho's future at Barcelona remains uncertain (Gonzalo Arroyo Moreno/Getty Images)

Koeman's arrival has meant more minutes for Coutinho, who is approaching the two year anniversary of his £142million move from Liverpool.

The Brazilian has impressed at times and speaking ahead of Tuesday's mouthwatering clash with Juventus in the Champions League, he opened up on the atmosphere inside the club.

The 28-year-old told Marca : "It's always difficult when you lose an important game because the atmosphere is frustrated.

"I see the team with desire, I'm stronger than before and I see the team in good condition with a desire to change this.

"We're in a process of renewal, we have to be patient. We have to want to improve every detail that doesn't work out, internally we talk a lot, in chats with the coach and between us, there are many things to improve and we'll improve them internally.

"The coach has changed, the players, it's all part of the process of renewal, we have to be patient and we have to make everything work in the best way possible.

"I know the performance hasn't been what's expected, being Barcelona there's a lot of tension, what I can say is that I've worked mentally to be good.

"Even more so coming from a defeat, you're more hungry to get back onto the pitch and show our strength."

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