Barcelona 2-2 Girona: 5 Talking Points, LaLiga 2018/19

#1 Squad rotation backfires for Valverde

Vidal started the game with Rakitic and Coutinho on the bench

The Barcelona manager made wholesale changes to his starting eleven after the Champions League clash on Tuesday.

Vidal and Arthur came in for Coutinho and Rakitic in midfield, and Nelson Semedo replaced Sergi Roberto at right-back. Lenglet came in for Umtiti, which was his first league start of the season.

The midfield due of Coutinho and Rakitic was sorely missed, as Vidal and Arthur were not able to offer much going forward even though Vidal got the assist for Messi's opener. Lenglet's moment of madness reduced Barca to ten men and arguably turned the game around.

Granted, Valverde's men will play four games in the next two weeks but perhaps he went a bit too far with the rotation.