Barcelona head coach Xavi has this evening revealed why he was not permitted to introduce Fermín López off the bench in his side’s meeting with Athletic Club.
Barca, of course, marked their return to action a short time ago.
Turning attentions towards matters in the Copa del Rey, the Blaugrana made the trip to San Sebastian, for a quarter-final showdown with Athletic Club.
The evening’s visitors headed into proceedings nothing short of desperate for victory, in the knowledge that, with Real Madrid already out, the Copa likely represented their biggest shot at silverware this season.
And yet, when all was said and done at San Mamés, Barcelona were ultimately condemned to a deserved defeat.
After the two sides could not be separated across 90 minutes, the clash was sent to extra-time, with goals on the part of Williams brothers Iñaki and Nico having proven decisive en route to a 4-2 result.
During his post-match media session on the back of proceedings coming to a close on Wednesday, it therefore came as little surprise when the under-pressure Xavi was grilled on his latest set of tactical calls.
Many a Barca fan have revealed their frustration with the club’s boss once more tonight, with his decision to introduce Sergi Roberto instead of Fermín López during extra-time having been singled out as particularly unforgivable.
Speaking a short time ago, however, Xavi revealed that he was essentially left with no choice.
This came with Pedri having been in need of taking off, and Fermín not eligible to play owing to a Copa del Rey rule which restricts clubs from having more than three ‘reserve’ (academy) players on the pitch at any one time:
“I wanted to sub Fermin in, but I wasn’t allowed to because there were too many reserve players on the pitch,” Barcelona’s boss confirmed.
Conor Laird | GSFN
