Hansi Flick made a couple of tweaks to his lineup for the Catalan derby against Espanyol. The German coach's rotations opened the door to a new culé record this season, this time related to the number of youth players in the XI. In total, seven players trained at La Masia were there from the start against the 'perico' team in Montjuïc.
The Barça coach put Héctor Fort in place of Jules Koundé, while Dani Olmo came in for Fermín López who had just started against Bayern Munich and Real Madrid. Along with the full-back and the midfielder, the rest of the youth players were Iñaki Peña, Pau Cubarsí, Alejandro Balde, Marc Casadó and Lamine Yamal.
The record for the most youth players in a Barça lineup dates back to November 25, 2012, when Tito Vilanova opted for 10 youth players from La Masia in a duel against Levante (Culé triumph 0-4). Dani Alves was the only exception in a formation that included Víctor Valdés; Jordi Alba, Puyol, Piqué; Cesc Fàbregas, Sergio Busquets, Xavi Hernández; Iniesta, Messi and Pedro.
Barça would complete the full squad of youth players in the 15th minute, due to the entry of Martín Montoya for the injured Alves. In the 61st minute, Alba came on to make way for Adriano Correia, with which the team lasted a total of 46 minutes with only La Masia players on the field.
Second great opportunity of the season for Fort
As against Alavés, the 18-year-old defender started in his natural position, the right side. Fort only accumulated 210 minutes of action in 7 games in all competitions, due to the great moment of Jules Koundé. However, Flick confirms his confidence in the youth player, giving him prominence to the extent that the rotation plan allows it.
Olmo returned in style to the Barça XI
Another who returned to the XI in the Catalan derby was Dani Olmo. The man from Terrassa had just played 25 minutes in the Clásico and, although many thought that Frenkie de Jong would start on Sunday, Flick opted for the playmaker to accompany the culé offensive trident (Lamine, Raphinha and Lewandowski). The move could not have been more successful, since the '20' scored a double in the first half hour of play, bringing him to 5 goals for the season.