Two teen centre-backs and a need to rest stars showed Barcelona's ...

“We have to rotate as there are many games in the next few weeks and players like Lamine Yamal, Raphinha and Inigo Martinez have played a lot of minutes,” Barcelona coach Hansi Flick said on Spanish TV station Movistar in the minutes before Saturday’s La Liga game at Osasuna.

Flick continued with a rotation policy he has been using in recent weeks amid a heavy fixture list of games in La Liga and the Champions League. Pau Victor (21 years old) was given his first La Liga start, with left-back Gerard Martin (22) and midfielder Pablo Torre (21) the other relatively new faces in the XI.

Most inexperienced of all was young centre-back Sergi Dominguez (19) starting his second senior game. His partner in the middle of the Barca defence was Pau Cubarsi, a prodigy in his second season in La Liga but still just 17 years old.

It was a risk, especially given Osasuna’s El Sadar stadium is not an easy place to go — Vicente Moreno’s side had taken 10 points from their first four home La Liga games this season.

The risk was evident 17 minutes into the game. Osasuna winger Bryan Zaragoza’s cross was excellent, and centre-forward Ante Budimir easily got ahead of Cubarsi to score a header from six yards.

It was tough for the kids at the back, but not a surprise. Burly Croatian centre-forward Budimir is an expert at headed goals — he has 20 since he arrived in La Liga in 2019, more than any other player in the division. He even scored two when his Mallorca team lost 5-2 to Barca in December 2019.

Flick would have been aware of Budimir’s expertise in the air, but he felt he had little choice but to rotate his XI. Barca have a lot of games at the moment, and also a lot of injuries, and a squad which lacks experienced depth in many positions. Of their four squad captains, Marc-Andre ter Stegen, Ronald Araujo and Frenkie de Jong are all out with long-term injuries, while Raphinha was rested after playing every minute in the first seven La Liga games.

The rotations also meant a first La Liga start for Victor on the right wing. The former Girona player was in the picture for Osasuna’s second goal, losing a physical challenge in midfield to Lucas Torro. With the Barca defence out of shape, Pablo Ibanez’s quick ball sent Zaragoza running in behind Dominguez, who could not keep up. The attacker, on loan from Bayern Munich, coolly dummied Barca keeper Inaki Pena before knocking the ball into the empty net.

Barca felt it should have been disallowed for a foul by Torro on Victor, but the goal stood after a VAR review. The 2-0 scoreline was also a fair reflection of the game at that point. With 30 minutes played, Osasuna had taken five shots to Barca’s zero, the visitors struggling to get any rhythm going.

Two of Flick’s fledglings™ were involved when Barca got back in the game early in the second half. Left-back Martin, who was very high up the pitch, intercepted a quick throw by Osasuna goalkeeper Sergio Herrera. As Herrera scrambled back to his line, he somehow let Victor’s weak 25-yard shot squeeze past him for his first La Liga goal.

The Barca coach was now sending on some rested players, and the momentum seemed to be with the Catalans. However, soon after Lewandowski was substituted, Osasuna broke again behind Barca’s high line. The unfortunate Dominguez clearly took out Budimir as he was about to shoot. The Croatian picked himself up and calmly scored the penalty.

Barca’s pain was not over yet, as Abel Bretones won a 50-50 with Lamine Yamal 25 yards out, and the Osasuna left-back immediately smacked the bouncing ball past Pena’s dive to the net. Flick’s team had only conceded five goals in their previous seven La Liga games but were now 4-1 down.

Yamal’s 20-yard drive made it 4-2 and amid frantic final stages, the 17-year-old’s cross was headed off a post at point-blank range by Ferran Torres. But it was too little too late and Barca’s first defeat of the season was well deserved.

“We have to accept this defeat, we did not play so well, made many mistakes,” Flick said on Movistar TV after the game, while defending his decision to rotate the XI. “It is my responsibility. I have to protect players who have played many minutes. I do not expect us to play like this. I told the team we have to continue. I think we are on the right way (path).”

????️ Hansi Flick and Pedri talk about Barça’s 4-2 defeat to Osasuna. #OsasunaBarça pic.twitter.com/mXgnsBr0Gb

— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) September 28, 2024

Flick turned down an opportunity to criticise the referee for not disallowing Osasuna’s second goal due to the apparent foul on Victor but did speak up when asked why he had removed La Liga’s top scorer when his team needed goals.

“(Lewandowski) also needs to rest,” Flick replied. “We have a game every three days. The team until now had done really great.”

That is fair. Even after Saturday’s result, it is still a tremendous start that few would have predicted as Flick was hired to replace former playmaker Xavi as Barca coach last summer.

Seven wins from their first seven games included some impressive results — including a 4-1 win at Girona and, last weekend, a 5-1 victory at Villarreal. Barca have been better organised than last season, and both Girona coach Michel and Villarreal’s Marcelino praised their pressing off the ball, evidence of Flick’s work on the training ground. It also appears the team are training harder now, with president Joan Laporta having mandated an increased emphasis on fitness.

Given this workload, the decision to rotate so heavily on Saturday evening was arguably rational. The problem is Flick does not have many experienced backups. Barca’s financial issues mean squad players have been shed regularly through recent transfer windows. Of Xavi’s squad last season, senior players Ilkay Gundogan, Joao Felix, Joao Cancelo, Sergi Roberto, Oriol Romeu and Marcos Alonso all left in the summer, with €60million (£50m; $67m) signing Dani Olmo — who is also injured — the only senior player signed.

Flick has been getting a lot out of his best players. Lewandowski, Raphinha and Pedri look sharper than they did last year under Xavi and Yamal has also been in tremendous form. The 17-year-old has five goals and five assists in nine games this season but Barca cannot realistically expect a teenager to keep up such a world-class output through the season.

Even before Saturday’s game at Osasuna, Flick had often had to keep filling gaps in his squad. With Gavi and Fermin Lopez injured, as well as De Jong, 21-year-old Marc Casado, 17-year-old Marc Bernal, and centre-back Eric Garcia have all had to be used in the middle of the park — an area so crucial for any Barcelona team.

Flick’s side are still top of the table, with a four-point lead on biggest rivals Real Madrid, at least before Madrid play at their neighbours Atletico Madrid on Sunday evening.

The games keep coming for Barca, with a match at Montjuic against Swiss team Young Boys in the Champions League on Tuesday. Circled in the calendar is Flick’s former team Bayern visiting for a Champions League game on October 20. Three days later is the Clasico at Madrid’s Bernabeu.

Flick will want to get his best possible XI in the best shape for those games. He will also hope everyone around the club understands the limits he is working under.

(Top photo: Cesar Manso/AFP via Getty Images)

Dermot joined The Athletic in 2020 and has been our main La Liga Correspondent up until now. Irish-born, he has spent more than a decade living in Madrid and writing about Spanish football for ESPN, the UK Independent and the Irish Examiner. Follow Dermot on Twitter @dermotmcorrigan