Every Sports: Van de Beek Still Yet to Turn the Corner, Struggling with Girona Performance

On September 26th, Spain’s Sport newspaper talked about Van de Beek, indicating that he is still struggling within Girona and hasn’t managed to improve his situation.

In the first round of the Champions League, where Girona lost 0-1 as a visitor to Paris Saint-Germain, Van de Beek surprisingly started. As a newcomer to the Champions League, Girona undoubtedly values his rich experience in European battles. However, in other matches, Van de Beek has not been given significant playtime.

After leaving Ajax, Van de Beek’s career began to decline, getting fewer opportunities at Manchester United and being loaned out to Everton and Frankfurt until finally joining Girona. Due to frequent injuries, Van de Beek has also been unable to perform at his best level.

When Van de Beek initially joined Girona, due to feeling muscle discomfort, the club was hesitant to risk playing him. It wasn’t until the preseason match against Espanyol on July 27th that Van de Beek finally made his debut for Girona. In the subsequent preseason match against Napoli, Van de Beek scored his first goal for Girona.

Just when people thought Van de Beek would gradually establish himself in Girona, he unluckily missed games due to a viral infection. When Van de Beek fully recovered, he faced the challenge of readjusting. His role in Girona became that of a substitute player with limited playing time.

In the third round of La Liga, in Girona’s 4-0 victory over Osasuna, Van de Beek made his official debut for Girona. In this game, Van de Beek came off the bench in the 81st minute and performed well after coming on, assisting in Stuani’s goal which sealed the score at 4-0 for Girona.

Not until the Champions League match against Paris Saint-Germain did Van de Beek start, getting a chance to prove himself. Van de Beek worked hard on the field, but had little presence. He played for 58 minutes in this game, touched the ball 20 times, successfully passed 7 out of 11 attempts, with a pass success rate of 64%, and lost possession five times. In the following match away to Valencia, Van de Beek came on as a substitute in the 79th minute but failed to make an impact after coming on.

From the current situation, Van de Beek is still finding it difficult to effectively integrate into Girona, not just due to his physical condition, but also because of tactical issues within the team.