Barça has a wardrobe background

Barcelona this season is more than eleven players. That is the main conclusion that can be drawn after the visit of the Catalans to the New Mirandilla. Xavi opted to make rotations before the difficult visit to Bayern Munich that Barça faces on Tuesday and the bet could not have turned out better. The azulgranas thrashed 0-4, picked up morale for the Champions League and put to the test a wardrobe that seems key in a season with a large load of matches due to the World Cup in Qatar.

“I am concerned that everyone is available and that everyone trains well. Whoever plays does not notice the difference, so this will be a dynamic in the season. You have to manage the minutes because there may be casualties due to sanctions and injuries, “said Xavi after the resounding victory against Cádiz. The words of the Catalan coach are those of a coach who, now, has a large squad to face all competitions and who knows that this can be one of the keys to success to maintain the physical tone throughout the entire course .

The game against Cádiz is an example of managing those minutes. It was a pivotal match in the middle of the Champions League commitments against Viktoria Pilsen and against Bayern. An opportunity for less usual players to have their share of prominence and to rest others who seem key against the German giant. On this occasion those who started from the bench were Lewandowski, Dembélé, Pedri, Koundé and Eric García, footballers who have been decisive in the good dynamics that the Catalans are going through and who entered the final stretch to finish the work of wear and tear that previously their peers had done.

Instead of them, the so-called unit B appeared. Before the summer, Xavi asked for a squad that had all the positions doubled and that is precisely what he has since the transfer market closed. Against Cádiz, Héctor Bellerín, who made his debut as a Barça player, Gerard Piqué, Frenkie de Jong, Memphis Depay and Ferran Torres appeared in the eleven. These are players who just a year ago would have been starters and who this season have seen their minutes reduced as a result of the levers and who serve to enrich an entire team. With arguments from the bench to change the dynamics of the matches and with a sufficient level to withstand the rotations that Xavi intends to do in months as marathon as September, with five games in just fourteen days.

De Jong gets on the bandwagon

Within the good general level of the less common, the figure of Frenkie de Jong stood out. The Dutchman, who had one foot out of Barcelona throughout the summer, was named the most valuable player of the match against Cádiz after a match in which he emerged as the compass capable of stopping the push of a rival who pressed very high due to the emergencies that he is going through due to the poor results. The former Ajax player knew how to go down to receive the ball to break lines, he had the fluidity in the game that was lacking at times in the match and he once again demonstrated that he has an innate ability to step on the rival area and see the goal. His goal was key to settling a game that until then had been choking his team and that ended with a new win.

The match against Cádiz also served for the debut of the latest signings. Héctor Bellerín and Marcos Alonso played their first minutes as Barça players and they did so without much fanfare in attack, but they were solid defensively. The former Arsenal player played the entire match, showing that he arrives in top form after doing the preseason in Mikel Arteta’s team, while the former Chelsea player entered the final stretch and did not play a leading role in Ansu Fati and Dembélé’s goals. Both join a group that has a wardrobe to face with guarantee a season that excites Barcelona fans.