Barcelona manager Hansi Flick is set to hand a reduced role to one of his players after remaining unimpressed with their performances. While the German manager praised his team for their comeback against Real Oviedo, one of his players did little for their credit with the German coach.

The Blaugrana came from behind in the first half to beat Oviedo 3-1 with second half goals from Robert Lewandowski, Eric Garcia and Ronald Araujo. However any happiness over that result was wiped away by the injury news, with Raphinha out for a number of weeks, and Joan Garcia set to undergo surgery.

Hansi Flick to reduce minutes for Barcelona midfielder

The victory may have felt a little pyrrhic for Marc Casado too. The 22-year-old started his third game of the season, and for the second time, was taken off at half-time with his side losing. While Casado did complete the match against Valencia (a 6-0 victory), Flick was again unhappy with his contribution with the ball, feeling that the team were struggling to move the ball with the required velocity. Although he was sharp in cutting out opposition counters, Sport say that Flick has made it clear that he does not have faith in Casado at crucial moments, and his substitution has affected the midfielder.

Hansi Flick: "In the first half we had many chances despite their goal. Our substitutions came at the right time, I'm happy with the victory."

— barcacentre (@barcacentre) September 25, 2025

Consequences for Barcelona’s midfielders

It asserts Frenkie de Jong’s already secure place as the starting midfielder alongside Pedri. The feeling was that Casado was somewhat unfortunate to be benched for de Jong last January, but these early performances have settled any debate over that matter.

The club hope that Marc Bernal, who started last season ahead of Casado in the pecking order, will build up game time over the next month, and could perhaps start a match in November. As Bernal returns to fitness, his increased involvement will likely be at the expense of Casado.