Barcelona midfielder puzzled by Xavi’s decision to substitute him vs Espanyol

Barcelona’s first match after 56 days ended in disappointment as they were held to a 1-1 draw by local rivals RCD Espanyol at Spotify Camp Nou.

The Blaugrana took an early lead through Marcos Alonso but were pegged back by a Joselu penalty in the second half as the two sides ended up sharing the spoils.

The headlines will be dominated by referee Mateu Lahoz’s questionable calls as he dished out a total of 14 yellow cards on the day.

But, there will be some critics of manager Xavi Hernandez as well, considering that his Barça side looked lacking ideas once again.

At the same time, his substitutions also felt a little confusing, especially his decision to take Frenkie de Jong off in the 82nd minute and replace him with a defender in Jules Kounde.

And, as reported by journalist Jamie Easton, speaking after the match, the Netherlands international has claimed that he did not expect to be taken off but it was ‘the coach’s decision’.

At that juncture, Barcelona were looking for a winning goal with Espanyol having already leveled things up. The visitors were also reduced to ten men, just like the hosts who had lost Jordi Alba to a red card.

Given the match situation and considering that de Jong was one of Barcelona’s better performers on the day, it was certainly a questionable move by the manager.

So, it does not come as a surprise that the 25-year-old midfielder is puzzled by the decision of his manager to take him off.

It was far from an ideal start for Barcelona following the FIFA World Cup break. They will hope to get things back on track at the earliest possible when they face CF Intercity in the Copa del Rey next week.