Wednesday’s cup match against Real Betis, with five lineup changes compared to the eleven from the Spanish Super Cup final won against Real Madrid on Sunday (2-5) and another win (5-1) to advance to the quarterfinals finals of The Copa del Rey, has had therapeutic effects for some Barça players who in recent weeks have lost popularity or have not recovered after reappearing after a long period of absence due to injury . An obvious case is that of Frenkie de Jong (27 years old), who again played 90 minutes as was the case with Barbastro (0-4). Since his return on October 1 against Young Boys, having recovered from his ankle problems, he has only finished two games, two in the Cup And has only started twice; in Belgrade against Red Star in the Champions League (68′ and 2-0) and in Anoeta in the Liga against Real Sociedad (45′ and 1-0).
The Montjuïc match in the Cup was the game in which the Dutch midfielder left the best feeling, from less to more, gaining confidence as the minutes passed both on the ball and in the battles with rivals, not who was afraid of receiving a few blows to the joint that tormented him. He played as a midfielder, giving rest to Marc Casado and perfectly blended with Pedro Gonzálezwhich covered his back and gave him freedom of movement. Overzealousness on the part of VAR, which found a previous offside, prevented him from appearing in the statistics due to his excellent assist in Lamine Yamal. Goal disallowed.
Although his name, precisely because of the loss of popularity, seems to be a possible exit from the winter market (until Rudd Gullit He is recommended in the Netherlands to go to Bayern now), from the player’s entourage it has been stated De Jong He is happy at Barça and is not considering leaving in the winter. Frankie He chose Barça over other big clubs at the time and his commitment remains. And now he is very happy because the match against Betis helped him to see what he can give to the team, so he hopes to keep getting opportunities.
He likes to play as a pivot because he considers that he can provide quality in releasing the ball with added verticality that other teammates cannot provide due to their characteristics, although Hansi Flick He should be the one to assess what is best for the team.
Source: La Verdad
I am Shawn Partain, a journalist and content creator working for the Today Times Live. I specialize in sports journalism, writing articles that cover major sporting events and news stories. With a passion for storytelling and an eye for detail, I strive to be accurate and insightful in my work.
