Due to Jules Kounde’s lack of discipline, Hansi Flick benched the defender for the third time this season.
Coach Hansi Flick chose to bench the French defender for Monday night’s La Liga encounter against Rayo Vallecano after Jules Kounde was late for the pre-game routine once more. Hector Fort was selected to start at right-back instead of Kounde.
This isn’t the first time Flick has reprimanded Kounde for his lack of punctuality. During pre-season, the French defender was benched after arriving late for one of the fixtures. In October, Kounde was dropped from the starting lineup against Alaves for being two minutes late.
Similarly, in November, he was once again punished by Flick and excluded from the XI for the match against Espanyol. “When I say 13:30 hours, it’s neither 13:29 nor 13:31,” Flick told Kounde at the time, emphasizing his strict approach to punctuality.
Barcelona’s 1-0 win over Rayo propelled them to the top of the LaLiga table. Just under three weeks ago, they were seven points behind Real Madrid. But the reigning LaLiga champions dropped as many points in the three league games since, allowing Barca to return to the summit.
Kounde will be aiming to avoid Flick’s punishments and start next time around as Barcelona are set to travel to Las Palmas on Saturday, February 22, in hopes of maintaining their lead at the top of the LaLiga table.
