HansiFlick, Barcelona coach, expressed his discontent after the 1‑2 of the LaLiga Clásico against Real Madrid, pointing out that the team lacked “freshness”. “I don't accept excuses, but today we weren't fresh and that's what we have to change,” said the German coach, after the result that left the Catalan club in second position in the table.
Flick's analysis focuses on the distribution of minutes between players. The coach maintains two clearly defined blocks: the starting eleven, made up of players who accumulate most of the minutes, and a group of substitutes who come and go as needed. The total number of minutes played in the 2026-2027 season is 1,170, with JoanGarcia as the player with the most time (1,035 minutes, 88.54% of the total). LamineMakongo and Pedri follow closely with 1,101 and 907 minutes respectively. Other notable names are XaviEspart, GerardMartín, Cubarsí, Fermín, Rodri, Raphinha and Gordon, all with more than 700 minutes.
In contrast, the substitute block shows a significant gap. EricGarcia, with 677 minutes (57.86%), marks the distance with Cancelo (566 minutes, 48.37%). Other players like Olmo, Christensen and Adeyemi have less than 500 minutes, with very limited participation in both LaLiga and the Champions League. This imbalance of playing time is one of the concerns that Flick wants to address to improve the team's freshness.
The coach also highlighted the absence of certain players in the squad. BrianFariñas has not appeared in any game, Balde has played only 86 minutes replacing Espart, and Hamza has logged just 12 minutes. Gavi, with 191 minutes, and FrenkiedeJong, with 16 minutes, have also had a very limited participation, although DeJong made his debut in the Classic. GabrielJesús has accumulated 233 minutes to date.
For Flick, the solution involves a redistribution of minutes and greater roster rotation, with the aim of keeping the team fresh and competitive in the upcoming games. Barcelona is preparing for the next phase of the season, where the management of the coaching staff and the depth of the team will be crucial to continue competing in all competitions.