Terry Gibson: Barcelona need to balance rotation and unbeaten run
Tuesday 6 February 2018 15:31, UK
Terry Gibson thinks Barcelona could face a "predicament" as they look to rotate players and also defend their unbeaten record in La Liga.
Lionel Messi and Ivan Rakitic both started on the bench at the weekend as Barca drew 1-1 with city rivals Espanyol.
Despite dropping points in the game, Barca are still nine points ahead of second-placed Atletico Madrid in La Liga.
But Sky Sports Spanish expert Terry Gibson thinks they face a tricky balancing act as they compete on three fronts for the rest of the season and try to stay unbeaten in the league.
"Barcelona are in a predicament," Gibson said on La Liga Weekly podcast. "I understood the resting of players at the weekend, but they are protecting an unbeaten record, which they want to continue. That might be detrimental because they have got a comfortable lead and not many people think there is a genuine title race.
"Barcelona have not been in this position at this stage of the season. In the past they have to put their foot down all the way through because they are being closed down by Real Madrid or Atletico Madrid, there has not been this kind of gap.
"It's important that Ernesto Valverde does rest players. I am pleased that certain teams place importance on the Copa del Rey and Barcelona have done that. This period I fully understand resting players, and Barcelona also have Champions League games to come up.
"I understand Valverde making the changes and he must have been tempted to make more at the weekend but it was Espanyol and they don't want to lose the unbeaten record, especially against their city rivals. It's a balancing act."
Barca had to come from behind to earn a point against Espanyol, with defender Gerard Pique scoring a late equaliser.
Pique celebrated his goal by putting his fingers to his lips to hush Espanyol supporters, having made pre-match comments about the club that had riled some fans.
Gibson said: "Pique has got massively broad shoulders, he knows the consequences, and immediately from the start of the game he was being booed and whistled. I don't want the post-match and pre-match comments to be notoriously dull; there's a line you can't cross and I don't think he crossed it.
"Supporters are entitled to jeer and boo him and if he scores the winner he didn't cross the line. There are numerous ways he could have crossed the line and he didn't. He is a massive personality and a massive defender of his club and I don't see anything wrong with that.
"He could take the easy way and not say anything, but I am glad there are people around like Pique. When you have that personality why suffocate it?"
