The Barcelona team offered Frenkie de Jong some love after Xavi’s team defeated Espanyol on Sunday. Blaugrana secured the LaLiga championship with four games remaining. One of Frenkie de Jong’s Barcelona teammates referred to him as “the best midfielder in the world” after the squad won the LaLiga championship for the first time in four years. Sunday’s Catalan derby between Xavi’s team and Espanyol ended in an easy 4-2 win for Barca. This gave them a commanding 14-point lead over Real Madrid, who will have to settle for second. At the RCDE Stadium, Robert Lewandowski scored twice, with assists from Alejandro Balde and Jules Kounde.
Barcelona defender Araujo acknowledges De Jong’s Class
De Jong addressed the media following the game in regards to his team’s championship triumph during Xavi’s first season in charge. However, other Barcelona players interrupted his interview and started praising the Dutch midfielder. Before Franck Kessie and Sergi Roberto barged in, Ronald Araujo spoke and patted De Jong on the shoulder.
He said to Barca TV, “Here is the best midfielder in the world, Frenkie De Jong!”. The Barcelona supporters cheered for De Jong during his post-game interview. In addition his teammates joined in the celebration as they celebrated a historic title victory.
Last summer, there were numerous rumours that De Jong would be moving to Manchester United, but the Dutch international chose to remain at Barcelona. He has been a key component in Xavi’s machine this year, helping Barca defeat Carlo Ancelotti’s Real Madrid to win the championship. With a victory over Manchester City on Wednesday, Los Blancos, who have been so dominant in Europe this season, might go to the Champions League final. However, they haven’t been as successful in LaLiga. Barcelona has dominated the domestic competition, winning 27 of their 34 league games.
Espanyol fans charged towards Barca players
Barcelona lost in the play-off round of the Europa League, but they were able to concentrate solely on LaLiga, which allowed them to easily win the championship. When the final whistle blew at Espanyol, Barca’s euphoria were halted as Espanyol supporters charged onto the pitch.
“It was a very emotional moment, a moment very hard not to celebrate, after so many months of working,” Xavi told reporters.
“We didn’t celebrate just because we were at Espanyol’s ground.”
“The coach said he did not see the supporters rushing onto the pitch as he had already headed in and had told his players to follow. I told them to come in because I thought that was enough. The celebration is normal, but I know we’re not at home and we can’t lack respect. I know (emotions are) difficult to control but I told them the best thing would be to get inside now.”
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