Barcelona boss Hansi Flick admitted that he had been hoping to rest Lamine Yamal during Saturday’s La Liga clash with Espanyol.
Yamal started the game again at Camp Nou, despite pre-match talk that he’d suffered a niggle in training before the game, and ended up playing the whole 90 minutes.
Flick said that he’d been hoping to take off the teenager during the match but had been unable to do so after Espanyol made it 2-1 in the 56th minute.
“In the first half we dominated and went in at 2-0, we had lots
of chances. We wanted to give Lamine a rest, but then the game leveled out,” he said after the final whistle.
Flick also offered an update on Gerard Martin after taking the defender off at half-time after he appeared to pick up an injury just before half-time.
“The thing with Gerard Martín I think isn’t very important and he’ll be able to play on Tuesday,” he explained.
News that Martin is not injured will be a boost for the Catalans against Atletico, particularly as Pau Cubarsi will miss the game through suspension.
