Frenkie de Jong scored a first-half opening that proved decisive at Huesca, but the German had to be alert to stop Rafa Mir from equalizing as the league’s bottom club were allowed to strike in the second half.
According to Ter Stegen, the team played very well
Barcelona goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen called on his teammates to raise the quality of their late in games performances after earning a hard victory over Huesca. Frenkie de Jong scored a first-half opening that proved decisive at Huesca, but the German had to be alert to stop Rafa Mir from equalizing as the league’s bottom club were allowed to strike in the second half. The keeper acknowledged that Barcelona’s display improved on their 1-1 draw with Eibar last time in LaLiga, but called for more challenging work to bring the Blaugrana back into the fight for a place in the top three. “For 35 minutes the team did very well, we played very good,” Ter Stegen told the club’s official website.
Barcelona are moving forward
“We had a lot of possession, and we pushed them high when we lost the ball we were right in front of them to keep on going. We made it very challenging for them to get out from the back and we need to improve, that is what I think in general the last moments so that we don’t suffer as much. I don’t think it is necessary. But we won the march, which is very important, and we are moving forward.” Ter Stegen praised De Jong, who scored his second LaLiga goal of the season, to match the number he scored throughout 2019-20. “I’m super happy for him, and it’s not that often that he scores,” he said with a laugh.
“I hope he continues like this, and it is a pleasure for the whole team and me to have a clean sheet to restart. And I am happy for us as a team”. Frenkie De Jong, who arrived at Barca in a €75 million transfer from Ajax in mid-2019. He credited the fine chipped pass from Lionel Messi to score his fourth goal for Barcelona. Frenkie said: “Especially in games like this when they close a lot, and they are going backwards, all of their team almost. It is important to make them run into boxing as a midfielder. Messi gave me a great pass, and I could score”. Asked if the club’s first goal in 2021 matters for him, De Jong said: “I try to score a little more, but I don’t think that means something, no.”