The Spanish newspapers have praised Luuk de Jong for the second consecutive week. The Barcelona striker seemed to give his team the victory with a good header on the pass of Dani Alves, but in the ninetieth minute Antonio Puertas scored the equalizer on behalf of Granada: 1-1. In the previous round of LaLiga, the Dutchman’s goal against RCD Mallorca (0-1) was decisive. After his goal, De Jong had to make way for Memphis Depay, who scores significantly less well in the Spanish media.
In the first company, De Jong was already extremely active in the sixteen of Granada. In the eighth minute he saw a goal disallowed, as Gavi had been offside earlier in the build-up of the attack. Moments later, the attacker came close to hitting a scorpion kick after a cross from the left and De Jong failed to produce a shot on goal from close range in the 22nd minute, when he was thrown off balance after a push in his back. He did manage to score in the 57th minute, when he nodded in characteristically from a cross by Alves.
Luuk de Jong is doing it again! ?? The Dutch striker saw his first goal disallowed, but the second really counts, right??#ZiggoSport #LaLiga #GranadaBarça pic.twitter.com/i7DuQkt8P0
— Ziggo Sport Football (@ZS_Voetbal) January 8, 2022
Afterwards, the Spanish media praise the ‘active performance’ of the goalscorer and see a ‘new Luuk’ in 2022. The Catalan Sport has perhaps the nicest words for De Jong, who is described as a ‘killer’. “He may not have a great Barcelona profile, but in the early days of 2022, he kept a lot of mouth shut. He continues to show the professionalism that Xavi praises. De Jong has shown in the last two games that he deserves more opportunities,” according to the match analysis.
“The Sword of Damocles continues to hang over his head unabated, but he doesn’t seem to feel any tension. In fact, he looks liberated,” writes Sport moreover in the individual assessments, where Depay, incidentally, gets a blow from the pan. “He came back after not playing for a month and it was obvious. He was late several times. Disastrous, lax and listless,” the newspaper concludes harshly. The other Spanish sports newspapers seem to have seen too little of Depay to judge him, but of course De Jong was described in detail.
“The goal that presents Xavi with a big dilemma”, headlines ASH with the video of De Jong’s goal. The Madrid newspaper also writes in the reviews that it was possibly his best match so far in the shirt of Barça. “Now he not only scores goals, but he also knows how to divide the game, put pressure and find solutions in attack. He even makes another hit, but it was disallowed. He also was about to score another acrobatic goal that, taking a side trip, resembled the Swede Zlatan. At this level, the truth is that Xavi would do well to reconsider his departure.”
marca praises in particular the proactivity of De Jong around sixteen and the head power of the striker. “Xavi seems to realize that he cannot do without Luuk de Jong. At least not now that most attackers are out of circulation. The Dutchman doesn’t always shine, but there’s no denying that he’s a ‘target man’. Exactly what Barcelona needs now. In the hour he was on the pitch, he was Barca’s sharpest man.” Mundo Deportivo sees that De Jong has proven himself again. “He again justified his starting spot with another priceless goal by flawlessly finishing a cross from Alves to 0-1.”