Ronald Koeman was delighted with the bond between Memphis Depay and Antoine Griezmann during Barcelona’s 3-0 win over Stuttgart on Saturday.
Barça maintained their perfect pre-season record, taking three out of three wins at the Mercedes-Benz Arena.
Depay, who joined the La Liga giants on a free transfer in June following his departure from Lyon, opened the scoring against the Bundesliga side emphatically after 21 minutes.
The Dutchman controlled Frenkie de Jong’s diagonal in the box, before passing over defender Pascal Stenzel’s head and firing behind Fabian Bredlow into Stuttgart’s goal.
After his second goal in as many games, Depay then played a key role when Barça doubled their lead 15 minutes later – a clever heel strike that released Griezmann for a cross for young Yusuf Demir to touch home.
Koeman praised his compatriot’s impact and was particularly impressed with his connection with the French star.
“Surely people know what Memphis is about,” he said.
“It was a [Manchester] United, the last few years at Lyon and above all he has shown that he is a goalscorer.
“He showed [that quality] with his goal, the strength and speed he brings to the team.
“His bond with Antoine is very good and this gives us a lot.
“They are two players who can play in different positions in attack. We will compete “
The touch: The click: pic.twitter.com/pvHSJy0ECT
– FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) July 31, 2021
Barcelona have scored 10 goals in their three pre-season matches, after beating Gimnastic 4-0 and Girona 3-1.
They complete their preparation for the next La Liga season – which begins at home against Real Sociedad on 15 August – with friendlies against Salzburg and Juventus.
While acknowledging that there is still room for improvement, Koeman believes his team is in good shape.
“It was a great match against a competitive team with more preparation,” he added.
“We have shown that we are on the right track. Physically we will need more, but the players are working hard and well.
“We have shown a lot of quality in many stages. Attitude, dedication and ambition were very important. We managed to score more goals, we had chances. “
