Frenkie de Jong returns and sends a message to Flick

FC Barcelona

Competition in the middle of the blue-and-red pitch does not worry Frenkie de Jong. The 29-year-old knows he will have to earn Hansi Flick's trust again, but his intention is to be part of the starting XI as soon as possible. That is what he made clear after the match against Real Madrid in statements to Ziggo Sport.

"We have many players of a very high level, especially in midfield. Competition is logical in a team like Barcelona; it's nothing new. I want to do my part and get back into the starting XI as soon as possible", the Dutchman said.

His return came on a difficult night for Barcelona, who suffered their first league defeat of the season against the Madrid side at the Spotify Camp Nou. The team coached by Flick did not offer their best version, although they were able to get an important player back to broaden their options in the middle of the pitch.

Flick uses De Jong in a different position

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The German coach surprised everyone by using the Dutchman as a attacking midfielder, despite the fact that in recent weeks there had even been speculation about the possibility of him playing as a centre-back. De Jong replaced Fermín López and moved into a more advanced position, ahead of Rodri and Pedri.

Flick later explained that he had studied other alternatives, such as pushing Raphinha back or using Gavi as a false nine or an offensive midfielder. In the end, he chose the former Ajax player for his good performance in training.

"He trained very well and gives us a lot of strength with the ball", said the coach, who also acknowledged: "It was very important for us that he played a few minutes". His recovery comes at a particularly delicate time for the squad due to the physical problems of several players.

De Jong played for around 15 minutes, during which he made 22 interventions, completed 17 of his 19 passes, made five runs and had a shot that was blocked. Those figures were accompanied by positive feelings in his first official appearance of the campaign.

The midfielder had already been cleared medically before the match against Real Betis, although he did not take part in that game at La Cartuja or afterwards against PSG at the Parc des Princes.

Before the Clasico, De Jong also told Ziggo Sport that he had never spent so much time on the bench and that he hoped to avoid that situation during this season. He said he felt fully recovered, better physically every day, and understood that his return had to be gradual.

Regarding the defeat against Real Madrid, the Dutch international admitted that "it always hurts to lose a Clasico at home", although he wanted to remind everyone of the team's position in the table: "we are still top of the league and we have to bounce back from this tough week".