Barcelona boss Hansi Flick has revealed why he opted to name Marcus Rashford on the bench for Barcelona’s meeting with Getafe on Sunday.
Rashford dropped after Champions League heroics
Rashford is finally finding his rhythm at Barcelona, with the Manchester United loanee currently enjoying a rich vein of form.
He registered his first goal contribution – an assist – in the demolition of Valencia, before producing a masterclass during Barca’s huge Champions League victory over Newcastle.
In the absence of Lamine Yamal due to injury, Rashford shouldered the goalscoring burden for Barcelona and scored both goals as they beat Newcastle 2-1 at St James’ Park.
However, the England international was bizarrely not included in the starting XI for Sunday’s La Liga clash vs. Getafe.
A report covered by The Peoples Person claimed that Rashford was left out by Flick after arriving late to training – a recurring problem from his United days that often put him at odds with managers.
Rashford was later brought on as a substitute and registered an assist in what was a good cameo for him. He also fired two shots on target and managed a 93% pass accuracy.
After the final whistle, Flick declined to confirm whether Rashford had been late, stressing instead that the decision was simply to manage the forward’s workload.
Flick sets record straight on Rashford
Flick told reporters [as quoted by Tribuna], “We got 3 points, 3–0. Everything is great. We must focus on our game. We scored three goals, and it’s not always easy to score three goals against a strong team.”
“I don’t want to talk about the opponent, I want to talk about my team. We must focus on our game and our plan.”
The German coach added, “For Rashford, it’s normal not to play, matches are every three or four days.”
“We have to manage his minutes. You saw that with Fermin. He played many minutes, and we have to take that into account.”
Featured image Paul Miller via Getty Images
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Derick Kinoti
Derick Kinoti is a football writer at The Peoples Person who has covered Manchester United and the game extensively for many years. He is a keen analyst with expertise in SEO and journalism standards. Derick is convinced Wayne Rooney is the true GOAT and won’t hear otherwise!
