The rainy Sunday in St. Joan Despí has brought surprises in Hansi Flick's lineup for FC Barcelona against Getafe. Dani Olmo, as against Rayo before the break, replaces Fermín López in the attacking midfielder role. In addition, another forward suffers a punishment for being late, in this case Marcus Rashford.
The English winger was late for the activation session prior to the match, as happened with Raphinha a week ago. The Brazilian stayed on the bench, so Flick took the opportunity to give his first start to Roony Bardghji. On matchday 5 of LaLiga, Ferran Torres has been favored.
Flick keeps his hand firm: Rashford to the bench for being late
And the 'Shark' was going to be a substitute for the first time in La Liga and for the second consecutive game. Robert Lewandowski, who is coming off scoring two goals against Valencia, would repeat in the XI alongside Rafa and 'Rashy'. The latter, in his best moment after being a scorer and MVP in Newcastle.
However, the '14' was late to join the morning activation session and Hansi Flick, as usual, punished him by sending him to the bench. Now, we have to wait and see if the Englishman manages to take advantage of the minutes in the second half, something that Raphinha did very well against Valencia.
The Brazilian came on after the break for Bardghji, scoring a brace in 20 minutes. In this way, Ferran will be a right winger, given Lamine Yamal's absence for the third consecutive match (pubalgia). The '7' scored against Mallorca (0-3) and Levante (2-3), but went blank against Rayo (1-1) and Valencia (6-0).
New opportunity for Olmo in his fight with Fermín
Another who receives a new opportunity in the XI is Dani Olmo. The Terrassa native has found it more difficult than expected to return to his best version at the start of 25/26. Not in vain, Fermín López started in three of the five games played by Barça.
However, the head-to-head battle between the Catalan and the Huelva native is still more than open. The '16' shone against Valencia, but was dull against Newcastle. The '20', meanwhile, returns to the lineup after a gray day in Vallecas, where he played 62 minutes.
In the press conference prior to the match against Getafe, Hansi Flick was clear about the fight for the attacking midfielder position. "We have very good quality players and I am happy with this situation. Maybe some players are not entirely happy with the situation, but it is about the team," argued the coach.
Well, Olmo will have a great opportunity this Sunday to be decisive in attack again. For now, he has one assist in five appearances (182 minutes). Fermín, on the other hand, has two goals in four games (253 minutes).