Barcelona heavyweight ruled out of decisive UCL clash against FC Copenhagen | OneFootball

It was a bittersweet night for Frenkie de Jong, who produced a strong performance despite some defensive lapses and provided an assist as Barcelona beat Slavia Prague 4-2 in the UEFA Champions League.

After all, he received a yellow card during the match in Czechia, which means he will miss the final match of the Champions League league phase due to suspension.

The Dutchman, who had a goal wrongly ruled out for offside, picked up his third booking in the competition when he was cautioned by the official late on, earning him an automatic one-match suspension.

As a result, he will not be available when Barcelona face FC Copenhagen next week in what is a must-win game for them to keep their hopes of a top-eight finish alive.

An eventful outing for De Jong

The night began on a bitter note for De Jong as he lost his marker for the opening goal scored by Slavia Prague.

De Jong set to miss Copenhagen clash. (Photo by Gabriel Kuchta/Getty Images)

However, he more than made up for it later by taking control of the team’s play, especially in the second half, when he led the push that ultimately secured the victory for the Blaugrana.

The Netherlands international then had a goal ruled out for a possible offside on Robert Lewandowski in the buildup, although the general consensus after the game was that the wrong call was made.

The Polish striker collected a rebound from the goalkeeper after a shot from Fermin Lopez, and instead of shooting, laid the ball off to De Jong, who finished decisively.

However, Lewandowski was deemed to be marginally offside at the moment of Fermin’s shot, leaving De Jong without what would have been his first goal in Europe’s top competition.

De Jong capped his display with a crucial assist, setting up Fermin’s goal that levelled the match, with an excellent vertical pass into the area.

However, now, Barcelona will have to make do without their ace midfielder for what is a must-win match, while Pedri, too, will be absent through injury.