Memphis Depay scored his eighth goal for Barcelona in LaLiga on Saturday evening against Villarreal (1-3 win). With eight goals, the attacker is on a level with Vinicius Júnior of Real Madrid and he only has to give Karim Benzema, good for ten goals, priority on the top scorer list. Depay missed some imposed opportunities on Saturday to score more goals and even gave a penalty in extra time.
Depay has been the regular penalty taker at Barcelona to date, but after a foul by Juan Foyth on Philippe Coutinho, he left the credit to the Brazilian. “He asked me that”, the the Dutch international, who was not yet accurate in the Champions League, explained the striking moment afterwards. “I didn’t think that was a problem at all. We are a team and we are here to help each other. It was also his moment. He needed it for his confidence. If he’s happy, I’m happy too.”
Past! ??
Coutinho also shoots in the 3-1 from the spot and gives Xavi 6 points out of 2 ??#ZiggoSport #LaLiga #VillarrealBarça #MotD pic.twitter.com/x0tONNqssy— Ziggo Sport Football (@ZS_Voetbal) Nov 27, 2021
Coutinho is also under Xavi at most a substitute at Barcelona for the time being. The Brazilian, who was previously loaned out to Bayern Munich, participated for twenty minutes in the city derby against Espanyol (1-0) and did not come within the lines in the Champions League match with Benfica (0-0). On Saturday, the playmaker was allowed to participate in the last ten minutes as a replacement for Nico González.
Depay was happy with the hard-fought victory in Vila-real. The Dutchman made it 1-2 with a nice goal in the 88th minute, after which Coutinho ended the game from eleven meters in extra time. “We needed this win. I’m happy. Also because I scored.” The the Dutch international was good for as many goals in his last four competition matches. A home game with Real Betis awaits next Saturday and four days later the squatter in the Champions League awaits Bayern.
In any case, Depay remains demanding towards his own person. “I have to give more. I want to score more goals because the team needs it. It is good for the development of the team. We had faith in a good result, we showed character and in the end it worked out. My goal? I had to finish that action.”