Joao Cancelo explains why he has barely featured for Barcelona

Barcelona had a good time of things on Sunday afternoon, as they defeated Levante 3-0 at the Spotify Camp Nou. There were a number of standout performers, but none more so than Joao Cancelo, who was given the MVP award by La Liga.

Cancelo has had a difficult start to his second spell in Catalonia, with the Levante match being only his third start since joining on loan from Al Hilal. Hansi Flick has appeared not to favour the Portugal international, although it has now been revealed by the player himself that he was not  fit enough to start regularly upon moving from Saudi Arabia, as per MD.

“I wasn’t in my best shape when I joined Barça, I was not at the same physical level as my teammates. I’m returning to my level now, step by step. Flick is very demanding, the club as well… I love that.”

Cancelo delighted by “best performance” against Levante

Cancelo was very happy with how he played against Levante, and he will fancy his chances of keeping hold of the left-back spot given Alejandro Balde’s struggles in recent weeks. He’s very happy with how things are going at Barcelona, as he also took the opportunity to look ahead to upcoming matches.

“Yes, for sure this is my best performance since returning. It’s about taking advantage of the opportunity. I was training very well and I felt that the coach was going to put me on. When you train well, things just flow well on the pitch.

“The important thing is the victory. Football always gives you a second chance and after two bad games we played very well against a team with very good players despite where they are in the table. But we deserved the win. In La Liga it’s hard to win every game.”