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Barcelona's central midfielder Frenkie de Jong was taken off the field following an injury, right before the end of the second half in their clash against Real Madrid on Sunday, April 21, 2024. Fans were sympathetic towards the 26-year Dutchman's situation and hoped for a quick recovery.
The first half of El Classico was tied at 1-1 with Barcelona opening the scoring in the 6th minute with Andreas Christensen's goal while Real Madrid equalized in the 18th minute with Vinicius Junior successfully netting a penalty.
While both clubs were tied 1-1, Frenkie had a collision with Los Blancos' Valverde during which he got his ankle jarred and was down on the field waiting for medical assistance. At 45+6 minutes, he was escorted out of the field on a stretcher while the entire crowd gave him a warm reception.
Taking it to social media, fans made posts expressing their concerns and well wishes while being sympathetic as the midfielder left the pitch with tears in his eyes. Here is a collection of their posts on X (formerly Twitter):
"Hope he recovers before the Euros"
"Unluckiest Footballer ever now he’s gonna miss the euros Quick recovery to him"
"Come back better," said another fan.
"Wish him speedy recovery man. It looks bad"
"This guy is really injury prone"
"Hope he gets well and can attend the euros. Get well soon from a Madritista," wrote another.
"vital player for us, hope it isn't serious"
While another added:
"This is sad"
In the second half, Barcelona's Fermín López scored to give the Catalans the lead in the 69th minute. However, it did not last long as, Los Blancos' Lucas Vázquez netted the equalizer in the 73rd minute, followed by Jude Bellingham's winning goal minutes before the final whistle. El Classico ended in a 3-2 victory for the home side.
El Clasico defeat leaves Barcelona 11 points behind La Liga leaders Real Madrid
Barcelona are currently second in the La Liga table with 70 points in 32 matches. In their last five league fixtures, they have one loss and four wins. The Catalans are eleven points behind table-toppers and arch-rivals Real Madrid.
The Blaugrana's journey in the UEFA Champions League ended after losing 6-4 on aggregate in the quarter-finals against Paris Saint-Germain in mid-week. They also lost to Los Blancos in the final of the Supercopa de España back in January.
With just six more matches remaining, the Catalan side seems to have run out of time in their pursuit to beat Real Madrid to the La Liga title.
