Feyenoord’s Jeremiah St. Juste says Barcelona ‘a level above’ in 5-1 defeat

Jeremiah St. Juste says Feyenoord must analyse their defensive performance after Barcelona began their Champions League campaign with a 5-1 victory.

The result gave Barcelona their first three points in the league phase, while Feyenoord were left to reflect on a match in which they struggled to contain the Spanish side.

“Barcelona have a great team and are one of the favourites to win the Champions League,” Feyenoord defender St. Juste told reporters.

“We tried to defend well, but in the end we conceded five goals. That is something we have to analyse.”

Raphinha scored twice for Barcelona, with Lamine Yamal, Karim Adeyemi and Gabriel Jesus also finding the net. Sem Steijn scored Feyenoord’s only goal.

St. Juste felt Feyenoord showed signs of competing with Barcelona at times, but said the difference in quality was evident during key periods of the game.

“We put in a very good performance during some parts of the match, but at certain moments the level was slightly higher than ours,” he added.

“That is the thing we have to work on.”

Despite the heavy defeat, St. Juste said Feyenoord’s display should not be judged entirely negatively as they aim to improve during the competition.

“We want to reach the top, and I think that as a team we did not play a bad match,” he said.

The match extended an unwanted defensive run for Barcelona, who have conceded at least one goal in each of their last 16 Champions League games. It is the worst such sequence in the club’s history in the competition.

Barcelona’s victory also continued an impressive start in front of goal this season. They have scored 22 goals in their first five official matches of the campaign, the first time they have reached that total since the 1959-60 season, when they scored 23.

Yamal also reached a notable personal milestone during the match, contributing to his 101st goal for Barcelona in all official competitions. His total comprises 54 goals and 47 assists.