Barcelona fans were left concerned after Hansi Flick opted to leave defender Pau Cubarsi out of his starting line-up to face Getafe in La Liga action today (Sunday, October 10).

The Blaugrana confirmed their team news ahead of kick-off, with Cubarsi’s absence from the XI quickly becoming a major talking point among supporters. Many fans took to social media to question the decision, with some fearing Barcelona could struggle defensively without one of their most reliable performers this season.

Several supporters admitted they were worried about the team’s chances, with one fan asking, “Can we survive?”, while others questioned Flick’s decision to bench the young centre-back despite his impressive displays in recent months.

Others, however, suggested the German manager may simply be rotating his squad to keep key players fresh during a demanding run of fixtures in October as Barcelona compete on multiple fronts. Below is the line-up and some of the top reactions on X (formerly known as Twitter).

The reactions underline just how important Cubarsi has become to Hansi Flick’s side. Despite his young age, the Spanish defender has established himself as one of Barcelona’s first-choice centre-backs, earning widespread praise for his composure on the ball and defensive maturity.

So far this season, the 19-year-old has made six appearances for the Catalan giants across all competitions, recording a total of 512 minutes of playing time to his name.

Meanwhile, Cubarsi isn’t the only key player that is rested for the encounter. The likes of Raphinha, Pedri and Joao Cancelo have also been named on the bench to give them more time to recover after representing their respective nations during the last international break.

How Barcelona fared against Getafe in their last meeting

The last meeting between the two sides happened in La Liga at the Estadio Coliseum on April 25. The home side put up a tough fight during the game Barcelona held their nerves and managed to secure all three points from the encounter.

Fermin Lopez opened the scoring with a brilliant strike just before the half-time break after receiving an incredible pass from Pedri. Marcus Rashford came on from the bench to score the second goal after being teed up by Robert Lewandowski in the 74th minute.

With Lewandowski and Rashford having left the club and Pedri and Fermin starting from the bench, Hansi Flick will be looking up to the likes of Lamine Yamal, Anthony Gordon, Gabriel Jesus and Dani Olmo to provide answers in front of goal this time.