Yamal given a breather as academy talents get minutes

Lamine Yamal was given a breather against Mallorca, while Marc Casado saw more game time than usual as he played the full 90 minutes. Flick explained the decision: “We have a lot of matches and we have fantastic professionals. He deserved to play too. Frenkie wasn’t feeling quite right, so I decided he should rest.

But he would have started whether De Jong was there or not. The important thing is that everyone steps up. I’m happy because that’s the foundation of success. If you train at 100 per cent, then you can play at a high level in competition.” Netherlands international De Jong was an unused substitute, which allowed another academy graduate, Tommy Marques, to make his first-team debut late on when he was introduced with six minutes remaining.

Flick said: “This is our path and our philosophy. It’s good for the club and for La Masia. We respect the work they do in the youth academy. Tommy has a lot of potential; you can already see it. We’re happy he had his first minutes with Barca. “He could be De Jong’s little brother!

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