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Barcelona · Hansi Flick · Rodri · Paris Saint-Germain

Flick benched Rodri for the Clásico. Barcelona conceded twice in five minutes in Paris

By the Data Desk · ·

First reported by AFP (Andy Scott), via Yahoo Sports · 20 OCT 23:20

Lamine Yamal equalised for Barcelona with a left-footed shot from a tight angle on 79 minutes in Paris, and by the 86th they were 4-2 down: Vitinha scored on 81, Fabián Ruiz on 86. Afterwards Hansi Flick admitted that Sunday's Clásico against Real Madrid shaped his line-up, with Rodri on the bench and Marc Bernal in his place.

  • Asked whether the Clásico influenced his choice, Flick said: "Yes, but you know Rodri played a lot of minutes with the national team and also the last games with us."
  • Rodri came on for Bernal on the hour at 1-1. PSG scored three of their four goals after that, from 14 shots on target; Joan García made 10 saves (ESPN).
  • Dani Olmo went off injured after 27 minutes. Barcelona have not issued a medical report yet; AS reporter Javier Miguel points to a left adductor tear and four to five weeks out, before any scan.
Why it mattersBarcelona have won all nine league games and lead Real Madrid by six points. A win at Camp Nou on Sunday makes it nine, and Flick has now said in public that Paris was partly sacrificed for it.

Flick did not dress it up. "I spoke with him this morning and I told him that we made this decision, and Marc Bernal started instead," he said, as quoted by AFP. "For me, it was a good solution what we did and hopefully he is fresh on Sunday." On the game itself: "We made too many mistakes, especially in possession."

In the Spanish accounts of the same press conference, Flick sounded blunter. FútbolFantasy reports Flick saying the errors came "porque no están frescos", because the players were not fresh, and that after the 3-2 the team was "un poco abajo" for the last ten minutes. On Olmo, in the same account: "Está muy decepcionado. Todavía no sabemos la gravedad de esta lesión." He is very disappointed and nobody yet knows how serious it is.

The numbers do not flatter the plan. Désiré Doué opened the scoring on 38, Xavi Espart equalised on 55, and Lucas Hernández headed PSG back in front on 72, all before Lamine Yamal's 2-2. PSG had 22 shots to Barcelona's 18, and 14 on target to five. It was Barcelona's first defeat of the season, and it drops them to fifth in the league phase with six points, three behind PSG.

What happens next: Olmo has tests in Barcelona today, and the club's diagnosis will settle whether he misses the Clásico. Barcelona v Real Madrid is on Sunday 25 October at 20:00 UTC, with Vinícius Júnior suspended for Madrid after his four-match ban was upheld. Real Madrid play RB Leipzig in the Champions League tonight at 19:00 UTC.

Our take

Rodri was not what Barcelona missed in Paris

We think Flick's gamble will be judged only on Sunday, but Paris showed that resting Rodri was the smaller problem. Rodri played the last half hour, and PSG scored three times with him on the pitch, from a side that put 14 shots on target. That is a team losing the ball cheaply and getting caught without it, which a fresh holding midfielder alone does not fix. If Barcelona beat Madrid and go nine points clear, the plan worked; if they lose, Paris will look like a night given away for nothing.

Our PSG v Barcelona analysis →PSG have missed 9 of their last 19 penalties →Report: who could referee the Clásico →Mourinho reopens Negreira before the Clásico →LaLiga predictions →Football news →
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Updates

  1. Update, Wednesday 21 October: Barcelona have their answer on Dani Olmo, and it is the one Flick feared. The club's medical statement says tests "confirm that Dani Olmo is suffering from an injury to his left adductor muscle as a consequence of a collision with an opponent during the game against Paris Saint-Germain", and that he "is expected to be out for around a month" (FC Barcelona). That rules him out of Sunday's Clásico against Real Madrid, and the AS estimate we quoted, four to five weeks, sits at the long end of the club's timeline. Madrid, meanwhile, beat RB Leipzig 4-1 at the Bernabéu on Wednesday night.
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