Barcelona manager Hansi Flick on Ronald Araujo fitness, rotations and Lamine Yamal

After a tricky trip to Son Moix was navigated with a 5-1 win, Barcelona cannot rest on their laurels this weekend, as they play Real Betis at the Benito Villamarin. With Ansu Fati and Andreas Christensen closing in a return, and Robert Lewandowski rested against RCD Mallorca, rotations and fitness were a key topic of Hansi Flick‘s pre-match press conference.

Flick had admitted that originally the plan was to rest Raphinha at Son Moix, but instead he had dedcided to bench Lewandowski, but was not planning on sitting the Brazilian in Seville.

“We need Raphinha in all of the games, he is a key player for us. We will see how he is. If Rapha says he is good, we see how long he can play whether that is 90, or 70, or 60. He will play what he can. He will start tomorrow, Lewandowski is also important for us, and he will start too.”

Meanwhile Ronald Araujo has been back in full training for over a week, but Flick will not be using him against Betis.

“Not for tomorrow, he will go with us to Dortmund, but not necessarily to sit on the bench. Maybe he can play. But his goal was Leganes from the start. He’s doing well in partial training, but it is not easy to include him in every match, because the team is full now. Today we have 21 outfield players, and three goalies, so I’m really happy about that.”

Hansi Flick: "Real Betis is a very good team, they have very experienced players. We know that Isco has returned, he is a very good player. At the end of the day, they are always able to press up high. It's the style they want to play." pic.twitter.com/aMqpVDlU4g

— barcacentre (@barcacentre) December 6, 2024

“Our focus for today was the match for tomorrow though, so we will see how we can include him.”

He was also asked about having a squad that was nearing full health, something he has not yet experienced – excluding the injuries to Marc Bernal and Marc-Andre ter Stegen.

“When you see the next year, how many matches we have, it’s very important we have options to let one or two players recover, this is much better when everyone is there. I like to have everyone available to play, and hopefully we end this year with everyone healthy.”

It was pointed out to Flick that without Lamine Yamal starting in La Liga, Barcelona have not won, but have taken three points in every game. The German was asked whether Lamine Yamal was the best or most decisive player in Europe.

“If the statistic is true, then we are looking for tomorrow,” Flick said with a wry smile avoiding the rest of the question.

Barcelona face Real Betis at 16.15 CEST on Saturday at the Benito Villamarin, where they can leave Real Madrid seven points behind in La Liga, as they play Girona later in the day. However victory against Mallorca was their first in four, a clear indicator they have no room for complacency.

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