‘Casa has a lot of quality’ – Frenkie de Jong praises Casadó and reacts after hard-fought Barcelona win over Rayo Vallecano | OneFootball

FC Barcelona got the full three points from their last night’s game against Rayo Vallecano, and these three points were quite valuable as they allowed the Blaugranes to return to the top of the La Liga table.

The match lived up to its expectations of being a hard-fought affair, with only 1 goal, resulting from a penalty converted by Robert Lewandowski, being the difference between the two teams.

But despite the importance and difficulty of this game, Hansi Flick made some changes in his starting lineup for this game. The most prominent of these changes was the introduction of Hector Fort in place of Jules Kounde, as the Frenchman was once again late for a team talk.

Meanwhile, this game also saw Frenkie de Jong once again starting in place of Marc Casadó in the midfield, confirming the Dutchman’s improving status in Flick’s team.

As Mundo Deportivo has reported, the midfielder also talked to the media after the match, and while celebrating his team’s success, also had some words of caution:

“Happy with the victory and being in first place, but there’s still a long way to go. We’re all very close in the standings, and there’s nothing to celebrate yet.”

The Dutchman also highlighted how difficult and important winning this game was:

“Rayo is a good team, they press a lot, and building out from the back was difficult for us. But to win something at the end of the season, you have to find a way to get through these kinds of matches.”

Frenkie rued the chances missed by his team, and highlighted the role of keeping a clean sheet in getting this win:

“We created chances, but we didn’t take them, and on a day like this, keeping a clean sheet allowed us to win.”

Lastly, the Dutch midfielder also praised Marc Casadó, his main competitor for a starting spot in this Barcelona team:

“‘Casa’ has a lot of quality, just like the entire squad—everyone can contribute.”

It will be interesting to see which of these two midfielders Flick chooses as his preferred starter going forward, as Casadó has not given a lot to complain about over the length of the season, while Frenkie’s performances are also improving.