"We have to do much better. It's happening to us too much this year"

Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong lamented the defensive mistakes that cost the 'Cules' a 3-5 defeat to Villarreal, especially after they had come from 2-0 down.

"It wasn't a good game, but if you're 2-0 down and at one point you're 3-2 up, you can't give these things away. In the end you lose the game. We have to improve on that, because it can't happen in a top team. If you have experience, it can't happen," he told 'DAZN'.

Speaking from the pitch of the Lluis Companys Stadium, the Dutch player insisted on this point: "If you come back from 2-0 down, it can't be that on a counter-attack they have so much space and score the goal. We have to do much better. It's happening to us too much this year.

De Jong did not want to comment on the penalty for handball in Villarreal's box that Munuera Montero disallowed after a VAR review and stated that "there is full confidence in the coach and the coaching staff", while indicating that the result "is the fault of the players" who have "all the conditions" to perform better.

 

January 27, 2024