BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Frenkie de Jong made his long-awaited return to Barcelona on Tuesday after being sidelined for nearly five months because of an ankle injury. The Dutch midfielder replaced Lamine Yamal in the 75th minute of Barcelona's 5-0 rout of Young Boys in the Champions League. De Jong had hurt his right ankle in April in a Spanish league clasico against Real Madrid.
He also missed the European Championship because of the injury. Barcelona had opened its Champions League campaign with a 2-1 loss at Monaco. Also Tuesday, forward Ansu Fati made his second appearance of the season after replacing Pedri in the 63rd minute.
Fati had played a few minutes in Barcelona’s match at Monaco last month. He returned from a loan to English club Brighton this season. Robert Lewandowski scored twice and Raphinha and Iñigo Martínez added goals for Barcelona, along with an own-goal by Mohamed Camara, in the win against Young Boys.
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer.