Barcelona star Frenkie de Jong has on Sunday evening been tested in an altogether surprising new role in Hansi Flick’s XI. This comes amid the Blaugrana’s La Liga showdown with title rivals Atlético Madrid.
Barca are of course currently locked in action at the Metropolitano, in the knowledge that an eventual defeat would see them leapfrogged in the table by their hosts.
As things stand, the two clubs are locked at a goal apiece, owing to strikes on the part of Giuliano Simeone and Julián Alvarez.
The aforementioned De Jong was for his part forced to watch on from the bench from the off in Madrid, amid his ongoing efforts to recover full fitness.
With 45 minutes on the clock, though, the Dutchman was thrown into the fray by Hansi Flick. And as alluded to above, this came in a brand-new role for De Jong.
With youngster Brian Fariñas enduring a challenging evening at right-back, De Jong was chosen to replace the Spaniard on the right of Barcelona’s backline.
It now remains to be seen if this proves to be a masterstroke, or, potentially, a major mistake…
Conor Laird – GSFN
