Sergio Busquets criticises LaLiga’s Saturday scheduling

His comments went more or less unnoticed, as was to be expected following Leo Messi’s virtuoso hat-trick performance against Manchester City on Wednesday evening, but Sergio Busquets produced some of the most interesting comments of the night.

Why are Barcelona playing on Saturday, says Busquets

Busquets, one of Barcelona’s club captains, openly criticised LaLiga’s decision to schedule his side’s fixture with Valencia on Saturday afternoon.

“Now we have to think about resting and preparing for Valencia, a match we know will be difficult,” he said. “We would have liked to rest more but we’re playing on Saturday. It’s the league schedule but we’re not even playing next week…”

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Real Madrid, Atlético and Sevilla will have more time to rest

Clearly the decision to hold the match, often a tricky fixture for Barcelona and one that Luis Enrique’s team will face with a number of key injury absences, so early in the weekend has upset some within the club. Both Real Madrid and Atlético Madrid, as well as third-placed Sevilla, play on Sunday.

Barcelona don’t have any midweek games next week, raising the question as to why they’ve been chosen to play early. The club hasn’t voiced any kind of opposition, however, leaving it to a club captain to speak up.