De Jong back to his best as Barcelona dismantle Real Betis

Barcelona have needed Frenkie de Jong to be at his best and against Real Betis he was back. The confidence shown in the Dutch midfielder by coach Ronald Koeman was compensated on Saturday. De Jong was one of the best players on the pitch as the Catalans won 5-2 in La Liga. 

The game began with Lionel Messi on the bench. It was time for other players to step up, like De Jong. After a first season of adaption, much more is demanded from him now. And he started to show it. In a game when direct football ruled, De Jong was able to use his biggest qualities, driving forward with the ball. That's what excited Barça fans so much when they saw him at Ajax and what's been missing at Camp Nou so far. He took on responsibility against Betis to take on their pressure and did very well. 

De Jong's influence on Barça's play was clear. He was everywhere, filtering passes that allowed Barça to break through the lines. In addition, he was involved in one of the key moments of the game, playing the pass to Jordi Alba which preceded Messi's dummy and Griezmann's goal to make it 2-1. 

For Koeman's project, it is vital that De Jong finds his place. So far, in the double pivote he's not always been comfortable. He tried but things were not coming off. He knew that. He's been looking for solutions and he may have found them. The performance against Betis was good news for De Jong. And for Barça, too.