Espanyol 2-2 Barcelona: 5 Talking Points | LaLiga 2019/2020 

RCD Espanyol v FC Barcelona - La Liga
RCD Espanyol v FC Barcelona - La Liga

#1 Frenkie de Jong's moment of madness costs Barcelona

Ad
RCD Espanyol v FC Barcelona - La Liga
RCD Espanyol v FC Barcelona - La Liga

In an era where Barcelona have been more associated with expensive flops than right purchases, a case can be made to consider Frenkie de Jong as the club's best signing in the last four years.

Ad

Despite costing £75m, the Dutch international has slotted in effortlessly and has been an ever-present in midfield for the Catalans.

He has impressed with his ball retention skills and distribution and while Messi and Suarez might get all the plaudits upfront, de Jong's job alongside Busquets in the middle should not be taken for granted.

The 22-year-old has appeared in every single one of Barcelona's 19 league matches to date and he was handed his 17th start against Espanyol.

Ad

After a relatively quiet first half, the former Ajax international was issued a caution for cynically thwarting an Espanyol counter in the 66th and despite walking on a tight rope, he still made some more rash challenges that were overlooked by the referee.

Frenkie de Jong is supremely confident in the ball but this proved to be his undoing in the 75th minute when he lost possession right in front of his box and was shown a second yellow for aggressively trying to win the ball back.

Espanyol took advantage of the extra space in midfield and deservedly got an equalizer and while Frenkie de Jong might be one of Barcelona's standout performers this season, his red card played a part in them dropping points against Espanyol.

Quick Links

Edited by Kingshuk Kusari
Sportskeeda logo
Close menu
WWE
WWE
NBA
NBA
NFL
NFL
MMA
MMA
Tennis
Tennis
NHL
NHL
Golf
Golf
MLB
MLB
Soccer
Soccer
F1
F1
WNBA
WNBA
More
More
bell-icon Manage notifications