The situation of Marc Bartra in FC Barcelona is quite strange. Curiously, the coach who has conceded him more minutes has been Tata Martino —1,587 in La Liga, 447 in Copa del Rey and 268 in the Champions League; 2,302 in total— despite his most remembered action was that in which he lost the ball just before Bale scored in Copa del Rey final, the goal that meant the defeat, and just after he had tied the match with a goal.
This season, with FC Barcelona having played in 6 competitions, Marc Bartra has only participated in 17 matches —any in the Club World Cup,— 8 of which as starter: 2 in Champions League, 3 in La Liga, 2 in Copa and 1 in Spanish Supercup. In total, 922 minutes. It's true that the center-back has never been more than two matches in a row without playing, but this doesn't mean his participation is little.
If we arrange his appearances chronologically, we see that last time he was starter was on December 9, 2015, when FC Barcelona played a trivial match against Bayer Leverkusen, since they were already qualified as first of group in the Champions League. The previous time he was in the starting XI was one week before at Camp Nou, in the second leg of Copa del Rey round of 32 against Villanovense. So, since the beginning of last month, Marc Bartra has not played a match as starter.
In the beginning of January, Luis Enrique suggested him to change his situation in the team —the same he said about Montoya last season,— to take advantage of the chances he conceded and to improve his performance to play as substitute, like Mathieu and Vermaelen are doing. As the coach said, Bartra can only "keep working".
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