Hansi Flick finally rests 26-year-old Barcelona star after 104 consecutive appearances for club and country | OneFootball

FC Barcelona faced RCD Mallorca in their last La Liga game and got a 1-0 win despite the several changes that Hansi Flick had made to his starting eleven.

Two of these changes were particularly surprising. One was Ansu Fati starting in Raphinha’s position, while the other was Eric Garcia playing as a right-back to rest the French defender Jules Kounde.

While the Brazilian got on the pitch in the second half, the Frenchman remained an unused substitute for this game, and thus, Diario AS notes that his incredible run of 104 consecutive games for club and country came to an end last night.

Since the UEFA Champions League match against Porto on November 28, 2023, Kounde has played every official match for Barcelona and his French national team, either as a starter or coming on to the pitch as a substitute.

Thus, his streak, which went on for a year and a half and saw the defender play 86 consecutive matches for the Catalan club and another 18 for his national team, was broken last night. During this time, he had been a key starter for Xavi Hernandez, Hansi Flick, and Didier Deschamps, and scored 4 goals, got 9 yellow cards, and no red cards.

It was understandable why Hansi Flick decided to sit him out for this game, as the Blaugranes are set to face Real Madrid in the Copa del Rey final on Saturday. The report by Diario AS claims that Flick had also spoken to the defender beforehand to explain his decision to rest him.

Fortunately, Eric Garcia did not give any reason to the German coach to miss such a crucial part of the team, as he not only held his own defensively, but also provided the assist for the only goal scored by Barcelona on the night, which was finished by Dani Olmo.