The last 3 matches against German teams which I watched (Germany, Bayern, Germany) he was poor and quite neutralized.
He is young, he will learn and improve.
And it shouldn't be a problem against light and technical La Liga teams.
But he'll need to learn a lot of things in the future against physical teams like Germany.
They're sure as hell physical, but they're not clean in the last 2 seasons particularly, which makes us hella predictable as to where you can draw a foul or how to bypass the mids. de Jong doesn't struggle against these teams. Put him against thugs who are actually compact and organised in how they defend and story is a wee different.He was great vs France and Madrid, two very physical teams. So... your theory is very selective.
Most players struggle when they have someone on them all game.
Well, yes.
All teams struggle against parked buses.
But you need to find ways to overcome it.
He'll have a marker on his back in all big matches from now on when teams will learn that he is the main playmaking threat.
Well, yes.
All teams struggle against parked buses.
But you need to find ways to overcome it.
He'll have a marker on his back in all big matches from now on when teams will learn that he is the main playmaking threat.
He has 9 tackles in this game so far. Given that you stress tackles and defensive contribution so much, explain this stat. Does not this mean that De Jong is a defensive stalwart?