Wednesday, October 20, 2021 at 10:08 PM• Dominic Mostert • Last update: 22:11

Luuk de Jong got a chance from Ronald Koeman on Wednesday evening in the match against Dynamo Kiev (1-0), but did not take it with both hands. The Barcelona striker participated in the first half, missed two chances and made way for Ansu Fati in the break. The mercenary from Sevilla was slightly whistled by the home crowd in the first half. The media in Spain is also not positive about his contribution.

De Jong was given a starting spot because Koeman wanted to save Fati, who recently returned from a serious knee injury. The whistle was especially noticeable when after half an hour he let the ball jump off his foot, stopping a promising attack. In addition, he failed to score twice before Gerard Pique’s 1-0: the striker headed wide from a free kick by Memphis Depay and then saw a shot from the edge of the penalty area tapped out of the corner by goalkeeper Georgiy Bushchan.

“The Camp Nou’s patience with Luuk de Jong has run out”, headlines marca after the game, referring to the whistle. The Madrid newspaper points out that De Jong’s missed header chance in the eighteenth minute was his first contact with the ball and that he made few better contributions after that. Sport awards De Jong a 4, the lowest score of all players. His untapped head chance is called ‘inexplicable’. After Depay’s spiraling free kick, De Jong had plenty of room for a headbutt after a good run, when he was around the penalty spot. His effort, however, sailed wide.

“He created the most scoring danger in the first half, but his lack of success resulted in some whistling and a substitution after the break,” he said. Mundo Deportivo. The Spanish version of Goal writes that De Jong continues to make the supporters at the Camp Nou ‘nervous’ with his loss of possession and missed opportunities. His first half, and thus his entire performance, has been described as ‘one to quickly forget’. One chooses a 4, just like the newspaper La Vanguardia. “De Jong was isolated and only touched the ball in the eighteenth minute. Still, he had two very good chances. Neither the head nor the foot succeeded. He was slightly whistled and did not return to the field in the second half.”