La Liga title still in Barcelona’s hands feels midfielder De Jong


La Liga title still in Barcelona’s hands feels midfielder De Jong

Frenkie De Jong

FC Barcelona midfielder Frenkie De Jong spoke to reporters ahead of their match against Real Madrid, arguably their most important one of the season so far. Barcelona go into the fixture 2 points ahead of Real and 1 point behind league leaders Atletico Madrid.

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And, the 23-year old feels that the title is still in their own hands and they do not have to depend on other results if they perform well for the remaining 9 matches. Los Blancos will host the Blaugrana at the Estadio Alfredo Di Stefano for the first time in Clasico history at 00.30 IST on Sunday

De Jong insists he prefers playing in midfield but is ready to play any position for Barcelona

He told Marca: “There is always pressure. It will not be different from the other El Clasico games. We want to win it. Winning is really important and it would bring us closer to our goal, but I don’t think it will be a decisive match.

“If we win or lose the Clasico, it will not mean that we have won or lost the League. The league is in our hands.”

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“If we win every game we have left, we’ll be champions. The cup final is also very important for us, but we’re focusing on the Clasico first because that’s very important for us too.”

De Jong in training ahead of the El Clasico

De Jong also spoke on his favourite position on the pitch. he has been often used as a make-shift centre0back in the absence of the likes of Pique and Umtiti this season. The Dutch midfielder made it clear that he would play according to the team’s requirement but doesn’t intend of playing centre-back for the rest of his career.

I will always play where the team and coach need me,” added De Jong. “I have always said that I prefer to play in the middle, but if I have to go somewhere else, I’ll do as I’m told.

“Wherever I play, my training routine will be the same. It wouldn’t affect me. But I can’t see myself playing at centre back the rest of my career.”

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Also Read : EL Clasico: Real Madrid vs FC Barcelona preview; predicted lineups; streaming details