Barcelona boss Ronald Koeman defends squad rotation after La Liga win against Real Betis

Barcelona head coach Ronald Koeman has justified his decision to rest several key players in the Blaugrana's 3-2 La Liga win over Real Betis.

The Dutchman said the decision was made to keep his players fresh for Wednesday night's Copa del Rey semifinal against Sevilla.

Barcelona started the game without Lionel Messi, Frenkie de Jong, and Pedri - all of whom came on as second-half substitutes.

Barcelona were flat in the first half and went into the break trailing 1-0, as Borja Iglesias put Betis ahead at the Estadio Benito Villamarin.

However, Messi equalized just two minutes after he came off the bench. The Argentine superstar also played a big part in Barcelona's second goal, which was an own goal by Victor Ruiz.

However, Ruiz scored at the right end soon after to set up a grand-stand finish to the game. Eventually, Barcelona completed another come-from-behind win thanks to an excellent goal from Francisco Trincao.

Speaking about the starting XI that he decided to put out for the game, Koeman said that his players were exhausted, which meant he had to rotate his pack.

"Above all, I made the rotations because the players are exhausted," he said after the game.

"We’ve played 11 games this year, 10 of which have been away from home and late at night. We are into the Copa del Rey semi-finals and Sevilla are a good side so we have to protect players to ensure we don’t get more injuries."

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Copa del Rey quickest route to trophy for Barcelona, says Koeman

Lionel Messi delivered an influential performance after coming off the bench.

With Barcelona currently seven points behind Atletico Madrid in La Liga - having played two games more than the Rojiblancos - Koeman looks like he is prioritizing the Copa del Rey as an easy route to winning a trophy in his first season as Barcelona head coach.

“It’s the quickest route to win something which is very important for us. But Barca must have a winning mentality in every game and in every competition," the Dutchman said.

On the subject of resting Lionel Messi, Koeman said he was left out with an agreement that he would only come on if the team were in trouble.

Sure enough, they were in trouble, and Messi once again bailed them out with an influential performance off the bench.

"I discussed resting Leo with him yesterday and we agreed we would bring him on if we needed him. He came on and changed the game, he brought life to our play," Koeman said.

"Barca are a much better side with Messi, he is so effective and he has spent so many years proving he is a vital player to this team," the Barca head coach concluded.