Luuk de Jong was the worst player in Barcelona on Wednesday evening in the match against Benfica, so judges Sport. The Catalan sports newspaper hands the attacker a 2 for his performance in Portugal. With a 1-0 deficit, De Jong missed a huge chance of the equalizer and that miss cost Barcelona dearly, as Benfica ran out to a 3-0 victory.
Barça had a huge chance to equalize shortly after the opening goal, when Frenkie de Jong broke through and put the ball wide on Luuk de Jong. The striker seemed to be able to push the ball into the empty goal, but had not counted on defender Lucas Verissimo’s sliding. “A number 9 from Barcelona cannot miss open goal like Luuk de Jong did after Frenkie de Jong’s pass, regardless of how quickly Verissimo put the block. De Jong offered nothing in the vanguard.” The newspaper summarizes the performance of each player in one word and chooses the word ‘clumsy’ for the striker.
“What is Luuk de Jong doing now?” ?? The striker gets a big chance to put Barca next to Benfica again but misses ?? #ZiggoSport #UCL #BENBAR pic.twitter.com/1qg93s4T9F
— Ziggo Sport Football (@ZS_Voetbal) September 29, 2021
Also the Spanish version of Goal Luuk de Jong gives the lowest score of all players with a 2. “He still does not realize where he is. He missed incomprehensibly when the keeper was already on the ground. He again did not understand how Barcelona attacked.” Mundo Deportivo speaks of an ‘unimaginable’ miss, but also highlights the role of Frenkie de Jong. “Did the situation really ask for an extra pass to his namesake, or did he have to shoot himself? After a hundred games for Barcelona, the Dutchman has not yet fulfilled the expectations that were there when he arrived.”
Sport is a little more merciful for Frenkie de Jong, who moved back from midfield to the rear after Gerard Pique’s early substitution. “He brought energy into the game in midfield, but Koeman nipped that in the bud by bringing him to the rear. He was obsessed with his system of three central defenders and one of the best players fell victim to that.” The newspaper rates Frenkie de Jong’s performance with a 5, while he Goal even gets a 7 and is named the best player in Barcelona.
“He was the one who brought the most football into the team and created chances, until Koeman decided that he should play as centre-back. There all his attacking potential was lost and therefore he no longer played an important role. At a 3-0 score he knew to prevent a fourth goal from Benfica.” Memphis Depay receives a 5 from the football website, especially for his efforts and because he received too little help from Luuk de Jong. Sport is more critical, saw that ‘nothing’ worked with Depay and gives him a 4.