‘I still have room for improvement’… Barcelona star not settling after strong display against Red Star Belgrade | OneFootball

FC Barcelona beat Red Star Belgrade 5-2 in the League Phase of the UEFA Champions League to enter the top 8 for the first time this season. After a disappointing loss in their first game against AS Monaco, the Catalan club has turned it around with three successive victories.

A brace from Robert Lewandowski and goals from Inigo Martinez, Raphinha, and Fermin Lopez helped the Spanish side beat their Serbian counterparts. Interestingly, three of those goals came from assists provided by Jules Kounde.

It has been some time coming but last night might have been the crowning moment of Jules Kounde’s transition from center-back to right-back. He has been performing at a very high level for some time now but his attacking qualities exploded against Belgrade.

Usually, Kounde is the more withdrawn of the two full-backs with Alejandro Balde being afforded all the attacking freedom but with the latter resting against Belgrade and a less-effective Gerard Martin coming on in his place, the Frenchman was given all the license to roam forward.

Despite a hattrick of assists and a generally solid display, as quoted by Mundo Deportivo, Jules Kounde has admitted that although he is happy with his performance, he knows that there is room for improvement. He said:

“Personally, I’m very happy. It’s an area of my game that I focus on a lot because I need to improve. I also want to thank my teammates, who are the ones who score the goals. I still have room for improvement.”

Kounde also had words of praise for Hansi Flick. He admitted that the German coach shares a close relationship with the players. The 25-year-old Barcelona defender continued: “Hansi is very important, he’s very close, and everyone feels very comfortable. We’re delighted with him. The goal is to compete for everything.”

Jules Kounde’s transition from one of the most promising center-backs in the world to one of the best right-backs in the world isn’t spoken about enough. He does not look out of place playing on the right side of defense.

His game going forward has grown leaps and bounds, all thanks to his own hard work. He now looks so much better at crossing the ball and against Belgrade, he provided three different kinds of passes from almost the same area that led to three goals.

It comes as no surprise that clubs like PSG are being linked with Kounde. However, make no mistake, he is not going anywhere. The Frenchman has a huge future in the game and one would hope that he stays at FC Barcelona for a long time.