Koeman on Messi: For a while he's seen how Barcelona are growing

Ronald Koeman couldn't complain about Barcelona's performance against Paris Saint-Germain other than his side's wastefulness in front of goal.

Ousmane Dembele had various chances early on, Sergiño Dest hit the woodwork, Sergio Busquets even came close and Lionel Messi missed a penalty.

In the end, with Kylian Mbappe's penalty and Messi's wonder goal, the game ended 1-1, with PSG reaching the last eight via a 5-2 aggregate win.

"We're eliminated, which is what counts in this sport, but also good sensations because had chances to make it more complicated for PSG," Koeman said.

"We had a great first half, we were superior, it was risky with one on ones at the back but a great attitude from the team. We deserved at least 1-2 at half-time but then it's very difficult in the second half. We had it close because we could have been 1-2 or 1-3."

Barça lost the tie in the first leg, when they were beaten 4-1 at Camp Nou by PSG.

Koeman added: "The result was excessive in the first leg, they were very clinical. Comparing today with the first leg, we created more than them, but they scored four and we scored one, that's a big difference.

"But I can't criticise the team, a huge effort from them, also need a little more luck. The PSG goalkeeper's the man of the match."  

Messi's decision

Asked if Barça's encouraging performance could help keep Messi at Camp Nou, Koeman responded: "In general, Leo's seen for a while that the team is improving with the changes we've made, youngsters with quality and big futures coming in, so it's not a question of having doubts about this team."

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