Getty Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong
Frenkie de Jong played a major role for Barcelona in their 3-1 Champions League win over Napoli on Saturday and eagle-eyed fans may have noticed the midfielder had his left hand bandaged throughout the game.
Barcelona made no mention of an injury to the Dutchman ahead of the crucial match at the Camp Nou, but the reason for the strapping emerged after the victory courtesy of his girlfriend Mikky Kiemeney.
De Jong’s partner posted a picture on Instagram of the Barcelona star showing off a badly swollen left hand from a bee sting.
The midfielder’s hand still looked very swollen on Sunday during Barcelona’s recovery training session after their Champions League victory.
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De Jong Shines Against Napoli
The injury certainly did not appear to affect De Jong who played a key role in the win over Napoli in midfield. Barcelona were without Sergio Busquets and Arturo Vidal for the clash due to suspension, but De Jong stepped up in the duo’s absence to help Barca book a place in the quarter-finals against Bayern Munich.
Frenkie De Jong’s game by numbers vs. Napoli:
100% take-ons completed
94% final third passes completed
92% pass accuracy
4 ball recoveries
2 interceptions
2 fouls suffered
1 tackle
1 chance created
Ran the show in midfield. 🇳🇱 #UCL
De Jong was unlucky not to end up with an assist after a gorgeous pass to captain Lionel Messi. The Argentine chested the ball down and powered the ball home but was adjudged to have handled the ball and saw his effort ruled out.
The performance was arguably one of De Jong’s most impressive for Barcelona since he joined the club from Dutch side Ajax in summer 2019 for a fee of €75 million ($88m)
De Jong Hoping for Champions League Success
De Jong and Barcelona now face a tricky test to make it through to the semi-finals of the Champions League. Bayern Munich are up next and come into the tie on the back of a double-winning season in Germany.
The Barcelona midfielder spoke about his team’s chances of success in the Champions League in an interview with Sport and believes the Catalans do have the quality to go all the way.
“I think that if we are at the top [of our game] we are one of the best teams in the world; at the end of the day, we are four victories away from proclaiming ourselves champions and if we show the best version and we are plugged in and plan the matches well, we can win it, of course.”
Barcelona will need to be at their very best to overcome Bayern. Yet the change in format to a one-off game may work in their favor, while the presence of Messi in their team means they will always have a chance.
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