Barcelona only managed to draw 2-2 with Girona at home, but squad rotation wasn’t to blame.
Girona ended Barcelona’s perfect start to the season as they came away from Camp Nou with a point. It was a disappointing result for Barca but considering the circumstances it could have been a lot worse. Jesus Gil Manzano decided to send off Clement Lenglet in the 34th minute after VAR indicated that he should take a second look, although replays were inconclusive on whether it was intentional. It certainly wasn’t an ideal league debut for the French defender.
Up to that point, Barcelona were playing really well as a unit because they were transitioning quickly and the attackers were linking up well in the final third. This was on display in the build-up to Lionel Messi’s chance when he did one of his notorious runs past a number of defenders before his shot was saved as well as his goal.
It has to be kept in mind that Barcelona had an unfamiliar midfield because Arthur Melo and Arturo Vidal were playing alongside Sergio Busquets, but that seemed to have little effect on the quality of the attacking play. Altogether, Ernesto Valverde used four players who aren’t part of the main XI because Lenglet and Nelson Semedo were also part of the starting lineup.
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The result shouldn’t be used as an indictment against rotation due to the fact that the game was decided by external factors. Games such as this one have to be used to acclimatise the summer signings and squad players to the requirements of the first team otherwise it will cost Barcelona later on in the season when the main players are fatigued and the replacements can’t meet the standard required.
Arthur and Lenglet need playing time to continue their development while also adjusting to the style as Vidal is. As mentioned in the post-match analysis, Semedo still doesn’t have a strong understanding with Messi even though this is his second season so he needs starts to build this up with starts. He provides width down the right flank as well as occasionally making forays into the final third, but his Argentine teammate prefers to drift inwards and utilise combinations there or Jordi Alba on the left flank which allows the opposition to overload those areas defensively.
There are also other players such as Malcom, Denis Suarez, Juan Miranda, Carles Alena and Sergi Samper who need to be utilised in the coming months to ensure they are ready for the first team demands. This was an unfortunate result, but how Valverde reacts to it will have a much bigger impact than this individual outcome.