Stat attack – Barcelona defender hasn’t completed a single game this season amid concerns over form | OneFootball

It has been reported recently that Barcelona are seemingly concerned with the form of two of their fullbacks in Jules Kounde and Alejandro Balde.

Balde, in particular, has become a talking point within the Barcelona camp, especially as the club lack the services of a viable alternative.

Despite his poor form this season, Balde remains a critical part of Hansi Flick’s setup as he is the undisputed number one left-back for the club.

Balde has yet to finish a single game

But in a rather peculiar statistic, it appears Balde has yet to finish a single game for Barcelona this season. He is, in fact, Flick’s favourite substitution this season.

Across La Liga and the Champions League, Balde has started nine games (having missed five due to injury), and in all of those matches, he has been substituted every single time.

Balde hasn’t been at his usual best this season. (Photo by Stuart Franklin/Getty Images)

The pattern has been consistent. He played 68 minutes in Mallorca, 76 against Levante, and 78 in Vallecas. Even after returning from injury and regaining full fitness, the trend continued: 76 minutes against Girona and 75 against Olympiacos.

He also didn’t complete the full match in El Clasico. Hansi Flick decided to substitute him in stoppage time, seven of the eleven added minutes had elapsed, with Gerard Martin coming on.

The story repeated itself against Club Brugge, where Flick again used stoppage time (93rd minute) to bring on Martin.

Curiously, this situation is not unique to Balde and appears to be restricted to the left-back position.

Martin, the team’s other left-back, also hasn’t played a full match. In the eight matches he started due to Balde’s injury, the youngster was also always substituted.