Frenkie de Jong gave Barcelona the three points on Sunday evening. On a visit to Deportivo Alavés, the Catalans had great difficulty in forcing a breakthrough, but in the 87th minute the Dutchman took care of the redemption on a pass from Ferran Torres: 0-1. After the game, De Jong looks critically at his own game, but in front of the camera of Movistar + he also takes the opportunity to respond to critics.
For a long time it looked like Barcelona would not win for the fourth official game in a row. The Catalans were unable to find a hole in the Basque defense and the few opportunities that were created were left unused. Yet De Jong scored the liberating goal three minutes before the end of regular time. The midfielder was able to put the ball in an empty goal on a pass from Ferran Torres.
Frenkie de Jong saves Barcelona! ?????
Finally a good attack from Barcelona in a difficult game: this time it is ‘the other De Jong’ who can finish in the absence of Luuk ??#ZiggoSport #LaLiga #AlavesBarca pic.twitter.com/NI3GTZIGHj— Ziggo Sport Football (@ZS_Voetbal) January 23, 2022
“The win was very important, because we are in a difficult phase of the season,” said De Jong immediately afterwards. “It was very difficult to play here because the field was very cold. We have to be more careful with the chances, especially in away games. We were proud of a game against Real Madrid (in the Supercopa de España, ed.), while we lost. I regretted that. We are Barcelona and we should not be proud if we lose.”
“I feel good”, continues De Jong. “But now that I’ve scored, people will say I played well for the enemy goal. But that’s not true. It seems like those people don’t watch the games at all. I can improve in many areas, but I don’t play disastrously either,” concludes De Jong, who scored his first goal since the LaLiga match with Villarreal on November 27.