Flick explains Rashford decision in Levante win

Barcelona secured a vital 3-2 win on the road at Levante as they produced a second half fightback in Valencia.

La Blaugrana fell 2-0 behind early on. via Ivan Romero’s opener and Jose Luis Morales’ controversial penalty, and that needed a stirring response after the restart.

Pedri and Ferran Torres got the ball rolling after the restart via a quickfire double as Barcelona ramped up the pressure late on.

As Levante battled to hold on in the closing stages, they finally cracked in added time, and Unai Elgezabal’s own goal gifted Barcelona all three points.

Flick was keen not to dwell on the controversial VAR decision to award a penalty for handball against Alejandro Balde – claiming he had no choice but to respect decisions made by match officials.

Instead the former Bayern Munich boss looked to focus on some of his selection calls including a first La Liga start for Marcus Rashford.

Marc Casado stepped in for Frenkie de Jong in midfield and Rashford replaced Fermin Lopez from last weekend’s win in Mallorca.

Rashford’s inclusion from the start meant a tactical reshuffle with Ferran Torres remaining as the attacking focal point, as Raphinha moved into a No10 role and Rashford on the left.

With Barcelona 2-0 down at the break, Flick replaced Rashford with Dani Olmo, and moved Raphinha out wide.

However, the Barcelona boss insisted he was pleased with Rashford in the first 45 minutes, and made the call to try and wrestle back control of the game.

“Marcus had a few chances in the first half and showed he can help us. In the second half, we needed to make changes and we put Raphinha on the wing,” as per Marca.

“I think they were the right changes to make. The first goal after the break changed the game.”

Up next for Barcelona, before the September international break, is a trip to Rayo Vallecano on August 31.