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Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong could not hide his frustration at seeing his team throw away a three-goal lead to draw 3-3 against Celta Vigo at Balaidos on Saturday in La Liga.
The Catalan giants cruised into a comfortable lead after first-half goals from Ansu Fati, Sergio Busquets, and Memphis Depay. However, injuries to Fati, Eric Garcia, and Nico Gonzalez disrupted the visitors who fell apart in the second half.
Iago Aspas scored twice, including an equalizer in the 97th minute, while Nolito was also on target to cap another disappointing afternoon for the Catalan giants in Spain’s top flight this season.
De Jong spoke to reporters after the match and offered a damning assessment of his team’s performance against Celta, as reported by Marca.
“I think that in the second half we forgot to play, we were stuck,” he said. “It was a lack of personality. We have to change as players because we have to offer ourselves more when there’s pressure from the opponent. That’s it. This game was very important to climb higher in the table and [to fail to win it] is a very strong blow for us. We can still fight [for La Liga] because we have a lot of quality. There’s been a lot of lost points and it will very difficult, but we have to continue.”
The Netherlands international was also unhappy with the amount of stoppage time added by referee Hernandez Hernandez. He added, “There were five minutes added, I think that’s enough. Then he puts one more minute for a throw-in. I’ve never seen that.”
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Xavi Has His Work Cut Out
Barcelona’s result showed that new coach Xavi has his work cut out at the Camp Nou, but De Jong admitted that the players were “excited and going to work hard” under the new coach.
Xavi has already spoken about his new job and the prospect of managing players such as Gerard Pique, Jordi Alba, Sergio Busquets, Marc-Andre ter Stegen, and Sergi Roberto who he played with during his time at the Camp Nou, as reported by Mundo Deportivo.
“I know five players very well because they were teammates and I see it as a positive point because I know how they train, ” he said. “I know how they are, and they are the team captains. I see it as an advantage.”
Xavi has also spoken about what he will demand from his players when he takes over in a short video released by Barcelona.
Barcelona’s La Liga Struggles Continue
The new Barcelona coach will need to lift his players who have now gone four games without a win in La Liga and are eight points behind current leaders Real Sociedad. The Catalan giants have also been hit by injuries to key players.
Barca lost Eric Garcia and Ansu Fati to injury against Celta, while 19-year-old midfielder Nico Gonzalez also asked to be replaced at Balaidos in the second half.
The trio join a lengthy injury list that already includes Sergio Aguero, Gerard Pique, Pedri, Martin Braithwaite, and Sergi Roberto, although Xavi does have two weeks to try and recover some of his players before Barca’s next game due to the international break.
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