Aleix Vidal has been left out of the Barcelona’s squad that is to play away at Getafe on Saturday for the second consecutive match — which is disappointing given the fact that the Catalan full-back had, in theory, everything in his favour to establish himself as a regular starter this season.
As it could not be any different, Ernesto Valverde refused to make give the situation much importance when speaking to the media in the Getafe pre-match conference: “Aleix is a player who can help us in more than one position. I understand these type of questions, but it’s likely that I will have to leave one or two players out of the squad on a weekly basis. Aleix started the game against Alaves and, although, he’s not been in the squad for the last two matches, that could change at any moment. I’m happy with him and with his performances.”
Undoubtedly, the incredible form that new signing Nelson Semedo has shown of late is having an detrimental effect to Vidal’s playing time. With the Portuguese international clearly on a trend of continuous improvement, it is certainly easier to understand Valverde’s decision to leave Vidal out of the team yet again.
Having said that, I sincerely do hope that the Barcelona manager shows some appreciation for Vidal and grants him a much-needed confidence boost in the near future as it is clear that, when trusted, the La Masia graduate can be a great addition to the Blaugrana squad — as his total of 177 appearances in La Liga in the four years before signing for Barca indicate.
The Barcelona Podcast duo talked about the importance of rotating the team more often before the winter break and the impact such policy would have when titles are decided at the end of the season. Listen in more detail here:
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