# Frenkie de Jong at right-back: Barcelona's half-time gamble that beat Atlético > Hansi Flick sent Frenkie de Jong to right-back at half-time, a position he had never played, and Barcelona turned a 1-0 deficit at Atlético into a 2-1 win. Here is why it worked. Sport · Binatec Pulse · David Banjo · Published 2026-11-09T08:41:38.031Z · Updated 2026-11-09T08:56:10Z Canonical: https://pulse.binatecagency.com/sport/frenkie-de-jong-right-back-barcelona-atletico ## Key points - Barcelona beat Atlético Madrid 2-1 at the Metropolitano on Sunday 8 November 2026. - Fermín López scored twice, the winner in the 66th minute from a Lamine Yamal assist. - De Jong replaced Brian Fariñas at right-back at half-time and moved back to midfield in the 74th minute. - Flick admitted a lack of intensity in the first half. Barcelona won at Atlético Madrid on Sunday 8 November, and the talking point is not only the 2-1 scoreline but who played where. According to [Goal](https://www.goal.com/en/news/spanish-media-unanimous-in-their-verdict-on-frenkie-de-jong-in-unique-position-against-atletico/bltb6c703d452f1e549), Frenkie de Jong began on the bench, came on at half-time at right-back, a position he had never played, and switched back to midfield in the 74th minute. The Barcelona version of the story is that a bold half-time call from Hansi Flick won a big game at the top of La Liga. ## What happened in the match? Giuliano Simeone put Atlético ahead in the first half, Goal reports. Fermín López equalised shortly before the break, then scored again in the 66th minute with an assist from Lamine Yamal to make it 2-1. [Yahoo Sports](https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/hansi-flick-talks-barcelona-lack-230817048.html) places the game at the Metropolitano, with Barcelona winning a big game at the top of the table before the international break. ## Why did Flick put Frenkie de Jong at right-back? Flick had started Brian Fariñas at right-back and Marc Bernal in midfield, according to Goal. At half-time, with Barcelona behind, he made the change. Yahoo Sports quotes Flick as saying De Jong "said that if the team needed him, he was willing", and that Bernal could be brought on later if needed. The logic is easy to see. De Jong is a midfielder who controls the tempo and can play under pressure, and a right-back in this Barcelona system has to build play as much as defend. Putting a ball-playing midfielder there gives the team another passer in the first phase of build-up play. That is our reading, not Flick's stated reason, but it fits the result. ## Was the first half the real problem? Flick himself pointed there. Yahoo Sports quotes him: "In the first half, we weren't on the pitch in some situations and there was a lack of intensity." It is an honest assessment from a coach whose team still won. The half-time change did two things at once: it fixed a position and it sent a signal that the squad had to raise its level. ## How did the Spanish press rate De Jong? Goal rounds up the verdicts. El Desmarque gave him an 8 and said he played at a high level at right-back. El Nacional gave him a 7 and called him "organised". Cadena SER described a "Partidazo del neerlandés", a great performance by the Dutchman, and Mundo Deportivo said he proved his worth in both positions. The reviews are unusually consistent for a player in a new role. ## What does it mean for Barcelona's season? Three points at Atlético in a game Barcelona trailed is the sort of result that shapes a title race, even if neither source gives the exact table. The tactical lesson matters more in the longer run. If De Jong can cover right-back for 30 to 45 minutes against a side as demanding as Atlético, Flick has a new option when injuries or suspensions hit, and he has shown the group that he will change shape rather than wait. There are limits. One half is a small sample, and the move back to midfield after 74 minutes suggests Flick wanted De Jong's influence in the centre once the lead was secured. Nobody should rewrite the depth chart on the strength of a single match. For fans in Nigeria, Kenya and across Africa who follow La Liga closely, the match was a reminder of how much rides on one tactical decision at half-time. The win, built on López's brace and a Yamal assist, also shows how many ways this Barcelona can score, and how willing its coach is to ask a senior player to do something new. The next question is whether this was a one-off or the start of a trend. Flick has not said that De Jong will play right-back again, and neither source suggests it, so the safe reading is that the switch was a response to the match, not a permanent plan. ## Questions people are asking ### What was the score between Atlético Madrid and Barcelona? Barcelona won 2-1 at the Metropolitano on Sunday 8 November 2026. Fermín López scored twice, the second in the 66th minute. ### Had Frenkie de Jong played right-back before? According to Goal, it was a position he had never played before. He came on at half-time and returned to midfield in the 74th minute. ### What did Hansi Flick say about the first half? He said, as quoted by Yahoo Sports, that there was a lack of intensity and that the team was not on the pitch in some situations. ## Sources 1. [Spanish media unanimous in their verdict on Frenkie de Jong in a unique position against Atlético](https://www.goal.com/en/news/spanish-media-unanimous-in-their-verdict-on-frenkie-de-jong-in-unique-position-against-atletico/bltb6c703d452f1e549), Goal 2. [Hansi Flick talks Barcelona's 'lack of intensity' and Frenkie de Jong the right-back after Atletico win](https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/hansi-flick-talks-barcelona-lack-230817048.html), Yahoo Sports