€30m Barcelona player continues to lose prominence as seen by Flick’s decision in Chelsea game – Report | OneFootball

FC Barcelona had a night to forget in London, with few positives to take from the 3–0 loss to Chelsea. It is not often you see Hansi Flick’s team outclassed in the way the Blues managed on Tuesday night.

Flick had some important line-up decisions to make ahead of the game, including who would start alongside Frenkie de Jong. Eric Garcia got the nod ahead of Marc Casado, but was shifted to central defence after Ronald Araujo’s red card.

According to Mundo Deportivo, Tuesday night was another indication of Casado losing prominence at Barcelona, as Flick decided not to give him a single minute despite the game crying out for defensive solidity in midfield.

Even in the second half, when Flick wanted to bring on a defensive midfielder for Fermin Lopez, he chose Andreas Christensen over Casado, which shows how much the young Spaniard is struggling this season.

That said, you cannot read too much into it, considering Barcelona were a man down, and adding Christensen would give them more control over aerial duels in midfield. Casado, in that regard, would have been a poor choice.

This decision reflects a wider trend. Since Pedri went down in El Clasico, Barcelona have played five matches against Elche, Bruges, Celta, Athletic Club, and Chelsea. Casado has appeared in only three of them, completing just one match against Elche and starting only once in the draw at Bruges.

The €30 million-rated Spaniard’s involvement has dropped noticeably since that night in Belgium, with his only recent minutes coming in the comfortable win against Athletic Club, where he entered in the 64th minute to give Fermin a rest.

Although it may feel like Casado is not getting a fair run despite injuries in his position, there is no doubt that Hansi Flick still sees the value of having him in the squad. Let us see if he gets the nod to start against Alavés this weekend.