Barcelona star Jules Koundé’s absence from the club’s starting XI to face Deportivo Alavés did not come due to simple rotation.
That’s according to Diario Sport, who have revealed that, in fact, the France international was the subject of a punishment on the part of head coach Hansi Flick.
Koundé, for his part, had featured from the off in all 10 of Barcelona’s fixtures across all competitions this season, heading into this past weekend.
His presence on the bench against Alavés, in turn, was understandably assumed to have come in a bid to afford the former Sevilla man a well-earned rest.
As per the aforementioned Sport, however, the ‘real reason’ for Koundé sitting out from the off on Sunday was his late arrival for the fixture’s pre-match team talk.
‘The initial idea was for Koundé to be part of the starting eleven, but Flick’s plans changed with Jules’ tardiness,’ it is concluded.
Conor Laird – GSFN
