Barcelona head coach Hansi Flick has on Saturday confirmed that he has lost complete faith in the talents of Blaugrana defender Alejandro Balde.
This comes courtesy of his latest line-up selection.
Barca are of course primed to return to action in short order, having welcomed Deportivo Alavés to Catalunya’s capital for a La Liga clash.
The hosts head into proceedings amid something of a defensive personnel crisis, unable to call upon any of the sidelined Andreas Christensen, Jules Koundé, Eric García or Xavi Espart.
The widespread expectation, as a result, was that the aforementioned Alejandro Balde would at last be afforded a chance to reestablish himself, courtesy of a first start of the campaign to date.
In the end, however, this has not proven to be the case. Instead, youngster Brian Fariñas has slotted in at right-back, meaning João Cancelo maintains his spot on the left.
Not only that, but Frenkie de Jong has been chosen to partner Pau Cubarsí at the heart of Barcelona’s backline:
Conor Laird – GSFN
