Until Sunday, October 6, Jules Koundé had established himself as the only player in the entire FC Barcelona squad who had been 'untouchable' for Hansi Flick. The Frenchman had not left the pitch since the start of the season, accumulating 900 minutes in all competitions.
However, the German coach decided to rotate him in the visit of the Blaugrana team to Mendizorroza to face Alavés. In matchday 9 of LaLiga EA Sports, the right-back came off the bench for the first time this season, receiving a well-deserved recognition ahead of the October international break, where the player will travel with France to face Israel (10-10) and Belgium (14-10) in the Nations League.
A great opportunity for Héctor Fort
In lieu of Koundé, Flick opted for Héctor Fort to cover the right flank of the Blaugrana defense. The La Masia youth player thus got his first start of the season, since before this Sunday he was the only player in the first team who had not been in the starting line-up this season. The player had had minutes against Girona (29'), Villarreal (9'), Getafe (2'), Osasuna (5') and Young Boys (26'), and in Alavés he increased his share by being on the field for 67'.
For his part, Jules played the last 23 minutes of the match against the Vitorians and has already played 923' in total, but he has finished behind Raphinha (931') in the list of players who have seen the most playing time this season. The ranking is completed by Robert Lewandowski (894') and Lamine Yamal (879').