Foot & Soccer Soccer Match Reports, Football News Barcelona’s overcome Osasuna at Montjuic introduced loads of pleasure but in addition just a few considerations. Chief amongst them was the early substitution of Dani Olmo, who left the pitch within the first half as a consequence of a muscle difficulty.
Nevertheless, Frenkie de Jong’s state of affairs stirred additional fear when he was taken off at half-time by Hansi Flick, who changed him with Pablo Torre.
Preliminary considerations over the Dutchman’s withdrawal have been put to relaxation after Helena Condis clarified that De Jong’s substitution was merely a precautionary measure as a consequence of overload somewhat than any critical harm.
Flick, conscious of the demanding fixture checklist and the toll it takes on his squad, opted to play it secure with De Jong to forestall a possible setback that would rule him out for essential upcoming matches.
Defending gamers
The controversy surrounding fixture congestion and the restricted relaxation gamers obtain has solely intensified lately.
With Barcelona eyeing success throughout numerous competitions, dropping a participant of De Jong’s calibre for a prolonged interval can be a blow Flick can hardly afford.
Frenkie de Jong was taken off at half-time. (Picture by David Ramos/Getty Pictures)
The midfielder’s performances have been instrumental, as proven in opposition to Osasuna, the place he performed a big function in Barcelona’s opening aim via his link-up play with Ferran Torres and Balde.
De Jong seems to be approaching his peak type, which solely provides to the urgency of managing his minutes properly.
Flick trusts De Jong
Flick’s belief in him stays full, evident from his feedback following the Osasuna match the place he confirmed De Jong may be very a lot in his plans for the upcoming conflict in opposition to Girona.
Nonetheless, the German supervisor might choose to deal with De Jong’s involvement cautiously to minimise the chance of a extra extreme harm. As Barcelona’s midfield orchestrator, his health may very well be essential to the group’s ambitions this season.
How Flick manages De Jong’s workload within the coming weeks might play a big function in making certain the participant stays accessible for the ultimate stretch of the marketing campaign.
