Debut day for Luuk de Jong

Five days after his official presentation, Luuk de Jong got to play his first game in a Barça shirt. It was hardly the ideal debut for the Dutch striker, with Barça losing 3-0 to Bayern at Camp Nou, but we did get to see some glimpses of what the 31-year-old has to offer.

He started the game in familiar company, for he and Memphis Depay have played together for Holland on several occasions, and he was on for 66 minutes before being replaced by Philippe Coutinho, back after a long period on the side-lines through injury.

By no means alone among the players for whom this was a new experience, De Jong made 12 good passes (just three failed to reach their man), recovered one ball, and was on the end of one foul. Although he was always a threat from deal ball situations, his speciality, he didn’t manage to get any shots on target.

The Bayern defence was simply too effective at neutralising the Barça attack, but De Jong will be getting another chance to prove his worth against Granada on Monday.