Hansi Flick has challenged Frenkie de Jong to earn his spot in the Barcelona line-up as the Blaugrana prepare to face Las Palmas in LaLiga on Saturday.
The 27-year-old midfielder was sidelined for several months this year due to a persistent ankle injury before returning to action in October.
De Jong has featured from the bench on four occasions in the Spanish top-flight since and was withdrawn at half-time in a 1-0 defeat to Real Sociedad before the international break in his only start this term.
The Netherlands international was also booed during Barca's 3-0 win against Brest in the Champions League on Tuesday.
"He must deal with this situation. He must regain his confidence," Flick said.
"We look at every game to win. We want to play with the best team and based on that we make the eleven.
"He will be back, but it takes time. For me he was injured and now he is progressing well, and personally, three or four weeks ago, when he started playing, he had a different mentality.
"Now he's back after the international break and we support him, but we have a lot of midfielders. Those who are at 100% will play. He has to show the level. He is progressing, we follow him and we support him."
De Jong made 20 appearances and scored two goals for the club during the 2023-24 LaLiga season, despite ankle issues hampering his campaign on multiple occasions.
Leaders Barcelona are winless in two matches in LaLiga, having also settled for a 2-2 draw with Celta Vigo last week, but enjoy a four-point lead over second-placed Real Madrid, who have a game in hand.
It is a marked difference in results for Flick's side, who had won 15 of their previous 16 league matches prior to their defeat to Sociedad.
Making it more challenging for Barca is a run of five games in 19 days, when they will play Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League and Atletico Madrid in LaLiga.
"I think I speak for the whole team when I say that the best thing today is to win Saturday's game," the Barcelona boss said.
"We don't care what happens next Tuesday or in Dortmund. What concerns us and occupies us is the game against Las Palmas. We want to build on what we saw against Brest.
"We want to show this, also to the fans. The best players will play, and those who are the best."
Flick will be boosted by the return of Lamine Yamal, who has missed their last three matches.
Barca have not won a single LaLiga game without the 17-year-old in the starting 11. They won 11 games with him starting and lost twice and drew once in matches where he did not start.
"He's back, he's ready to play. I don't know if he will start. But he will play," Flick said.
"I hope the team is well prepared. It showed in the session. Some players are coming back. We are in a good situation."
LA Galaxy 2-1 New York Red Bulls: Paintsil and Joveljic goals secure MLS Cup
The LA Galaxy claimed a record-extending sixth MLS Cup by beating the New York Red Bulls 2-1, with early goals from Joseph Paintsil and Dejan Joveljic securing the trophy.
The Galaxy raced into a two-goal lead within 13 minutes as they made a blistering start on home soil at Dignity Health Sports Park, and they held firm after the Red Bulls halved the arrears midway through the first half.
Gaston Brugman threaded a lovely throughball into the path of Paintsil, who slotted his finish under Carlos Coronel for a ninth-minute opener.
Four minutes later, Greg Vanney's men had breathing space as Joveljic escaped the Red Bulls backline to prod home with the outside of his boot.
Daniel Edelman narrowly avoided putting through his own net soon afterwards, then New York clawed one back through captain Sean Nealis, who volleyed home following an inswinging corner Emil Forsberg.
Noah Eile missed one glorious chance before teeing up another for Dante Vanzeir, but the Galaxy held firm, almost adding a third goal when Miki Yamane cannoned a shot against the post shortly after the hour-mark.
Data Debrief: Galaxy out on their own
The LA Galaxy already held the record for most MLS Cup triumphs ahead of Saturday's showpiece game, with their sixth success now taking them two clear of D.C. United.
The win ended their 10-year wait for a title, last claiming the crown when a team containing Landon Donovan and Robbie Keane beat the New England Revolution in 2014.
Girona 0-3 Real Madrid: Bellingham and Mbappe score as Blancos close on Barcelona
Real Madrid closed the gap on LaLiga leaders Barcelona to two points with a commanding 3-0 win at Girona, with goals from Jude Bellingham, Arda Guler and Kylian Mbappe.
Second-placed Madrid have 36 points with a game in hand on Barca, who drew 2-2 at Real Betis earlier on Saturday, after inflicting Girona's sixth loss of the campaign.
Bellingham opened the scoring in the 36th minute by capitalising on a loose ball and firing home from the centre of the box, with the England international then turning provider for Madrid's second goal.
Ten minutes into the second half, his defence-splitting throughball teed up Guler to double Madrid's lead, though Bellingham was withdrawn with an injury soon afterwards.
Mbappe then added further gloss shortly after the hour mark, firing home from a tight angle for his ninth league goal of the season.
Data debrief: Mbappe brings up double century
Mbappe's ninth league goal for Madrid was also his 200th in his career across Europe's top five leagues, on his 261st such appearance.
He netted 16 times for Monaco and 175 times with Paris Saint-Germain.
He was not the only Blancos star with something to celebrate, as Bellingham made it five straight games with a goal for the very first time in Europe's top leagues, though his second-half exit will concern Carlo Ancelotti.
STETHS end title drought with 3-1 Ben Francis Cup win over Clarendon College
St Elizabeth Technical High School (STETHS) celebrated their seventh hold on the ISSA/Wata Ben Francis Cup in commanding fashion after defeating dethroned daCosta Cup champions Clarendon College 3-1 in an entertaining final at the National Stadium on Saturday.
Goals from Trinidad and Tobago’s Kaieem Lewis (27th), Henry Johnson (45+2), and substitute Jordan Blake (90+3) ended an eight-year title drought for the Santa Cruz-based institution. Their last triumph came in 2015, when they secured a memorable double, winning both the daCosta Cup and the Ben Francis Cup.
This latest success adds to a decorated history in the competition, with previous titles in 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2015.
Meanwhile, Justin Hayles (69th) pulled one back for Clarendon College, who finished the season empty-handed for the first time in recent memory.
Winning coach Omar Wedderburn is optimistic that this title win is the start of their resurgence for even greater ambitions in the seasons ahead, as it serves as a reminder of their rich legacy in schoolboy football.
“It feels incredible to finally bring this title back home; we came here today with a lot of heart, so we are really happy. It is almost a decade now since we won anything at STETHS, and I think this is the way to start. We have to creep before we walk, and this is our creeping right now because we have great plans for next year, and this will motivate our programme going forward,” a jubilant Wedderburn said post-match.
STETHS entered the contest with purpose, but it was Clarendon College who initially looked more threatening in the early exchanges.
In the 10th minute, Dameon Simms had an opportunity for the Chapelton-based Clarendon College deep inside the box, only to be denied by Johnoi Steadman in goal for STETHS.
The Santa Cruz outfit began asserting themselves shortly after, with Lewis narrowly missing the target in the 16th minute. STETHS appeared to have broken the deadlock in the 24th minute when Justin McPherson found the back of the net, but the goal was ruled offside.
Still, persistence paid off three minutes later, as Dantay Hewitt's pass found Lewis in the box, and the Trinidadian comfortably slotted home from close range to give STETHS the lead.
Right before halftime, Joshaine Beecher’s dynamic run on the break set up Johnson, whose perfectly timed overlapping run ended with a clinical finish past Clarendon College’s goalkeeper Marco Thompson to put STETHS 2-0 up at the break.
Clarendon College came out with renewed vigour on the resumption, with Justin Hayles forcing two strong saves from Steadman a few minutes in.
The pressure eventually yielded results in the 69th minute when Antwon McDonald was brought down in the box, and Hayles calmly converted the ensuing penalty to reduce the deficit.
Clarendon College continued to press for an equalizer, but Steadman remained resolute, denying Dusean Petgrave in the 76th minute to maintain STETHS’s advantage.
Though still in charge in the dying moments of the contest, STETHS showcased their composure and teamwork with a fluid sequence involving four or five passes. Substitute Blake capped off the well-worked build-up with a curling left-footed shot past the diving Thompson to seal the 3-1 victory.
Clarendon College’s Technical Director, Lenworth Hyde, expressed a mixed bag of emotions at the outcome.
“Such is the game; this year we have been in an out with players; we lost a lot of our players last year and brought in some new players this year. After we got knocked out of the daCosta Cup, we cut the squad again and brought up some Under-16 players to play as we build for next season. I think we tried, but STETHS was just quicker than us, and we didn’t make use of our chances,” Hyde said.
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