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Barcelona have been hit by injury scares to midfielder Frenkie de Jong and teenage forward Ansu Fati after Sunday’s disappointing 2-1 defeat to Real Madrid in La Liga.
Both players started the match but were taken off in the second half after feeling some discomfort. De Jong has a hamstring issue and is expected to miss Wednesday’s match at Rayo Vallecano, as reported by Diario Sport’s Toni Juanmarti.
The injury also means the Netherlands international is a “serious doubt” for Barcelona’s La Liga fixture against Alaves on Saturday, October 30. De Jong was taken off after 77 minutes at the Camp Nou and replaced by Sergi Roberto.
Fati’s fitness is also a concern after suffering some knee pain against Real Madrid, as reported by Javier Miguel at Diario AS. The teenager is only just back after 10 months out with a knee injury but is expected to be fit for the trip to Rayo.
Coach Ronald Koeman spoke about the teenager’s fitness in his post-match press conference, as reported by Marca. He told reporters, “Ansu has small annoyances, but it doesn’t seem anything serious. He has to rest.”
The news will be a further blow to Koeman who was without Pedri, Ousmane Dembele, Martin Braithwaite, and Ronald Araujo for Sunday’s clash against Real Madrid due to injury.
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Busquets Reacts to Barcelona’s Clasico Defeat
Barcelona will need to bounce back from their Clasico defeat against Rayo. Goals from David Alaba and Lucas Vazquez gave Los Blancos a victory which captain Sergio Busquets felt was undeserved, as reported by Diario Sport.
“It was too much of a punishment based on the merits of each team. They got it right in the first half and then they’ve waited for us on the counter-attack. We created a lot of chances,” he said. “We knew they would give us the ball and look for the pace of Vinicius and Rodrygo. We controlled them coming out from the back but against a team like this if you lose position or concentration, they score, and that’s what happened. We also had chances with Dest and Ansu, but scoring first boosts your chances in these games. The 0-1 is almost definitive.”
The only consolation for Barcelona was the sight of substitute Sergio Aguero scoring his first goal for his new club in stoppage time. Aguero has only just returned to fitness but his return may be well-timed if Fati is set for more time on the sidelines.
Barcelona Condemn Koeman Incident
There are also problems off the pitch for Barcelona. Koeman’s car was mobbed by supporters after the defeat to Real Madrid as the Dutchman attempted to make his way away from the Camp Nou.
Barcelona were quick to respond to the incident with a post on social media that condemned those supporters who confronted the coach after the game.
Sunday’s result will do nothing to calm supporters already frustrated with Barcelona’s results and performances under Koeman. The coach has been backed by president Joan Laporta but will know his job will come under more pressure if he can’t turn things around quickly at the Camp Nou.
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