Barcelona head coach Hansi Flick opted to drop a member of his first-choice XI to the bench as an act of punishment this evening.
Barcelona are of course currently locked in action, in a meeting with Athletic Club.
Fresh off booking their spot in the Copa del Rey Last-16 over the weekend, the Blaugrana have made the trip to Saudi Arabia, for a Spanish Super Cup semi-final clash.
Boss Hansi Flick opted for one head-turning inclusion in his line-up for the fixture, selecting Wojciech Szczęsny between the posts ahead of no.1 Iñaki Peña.
And an explanation for precisely as much has since come to the fore online.
As revealed by Helena Condis of COPE, Peña dropping to the bench comes as a ‘punishment’:
‘Iñaki Peña was going to be a starter today. But he arrived a few minutes late to the activation session at the hotel and Flick “punished” him. He didn’t sleep. He made a mistake with the time. Flick knows this but is inflexible about lateness.’
Conor Laird – GSFN
