Spanish football giants Barcelona trained on Tuesday without 10 of their first team players, who are currently on international duty with their respective countries for the UEFA Nations League.
Head coach Ernesto Valverde led the practice without the presence of several big names, including German goalkeeper Marc Andre Ter Stegen, Belgian defender Thomas Vermaelen, Brazilian midfielder Philippe Coutinho and French forward Ousmane Dembele, reports Efe.
Full international schedule: https://t.co/uGjdMLB74o
@ivanrakitic
Sergio Busquets
Malcom, @arthurhromelo, @Phil_Coutinho
@Dembouz
@thomasvermaelen
@mterstegen1
@JasperCillessen
@kingarturo23
@balloutabla (Barça B) pic.twitter.com/qWgFKRyOb6— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) October 9, 2018
At the same time, it provided a good opportunity for those youngsters who wanted to make an impression and stake a claim for first-team spots. Riqui Puig, a 19-year-old midfielder from Barçelona B was one such beneficiary after being included as a part of the session along with other first team members.
The other high profile absentees who were not a part of the practice session included defender Sergi Roberto who did not take part in the practice session as well as Uruguay striker Luis Suarez who has been ruled out with a knee injury.
The Spanish giants have failed to register a win in their last four La Liga clashes, after barely managing to register a draw against Valencia and are all set to host Sevilla, who are enjoying a good run on October 20.