‘We wanted to give Pedri rest’: Hansi Flick explains playing Ansu Fati as attacking midfielder v Young Boys

“It’s easy to understand [playing Ansu Fati as an attacking midfielder v Young Boys]. The position Ansu played in was because we wanted to give Pedri rest and we thought De Jong had to play fewer minutes,” Hans-Dieter Flick told the media after the 5-0 win in the Champions League.

“Ansu is doing very well in training. He’s at a very high level. We need time for him to play at his best again. He really wants to improve, he’s very professional and he deserves our patience with him,” the German added.

Ansu Fati replaced Pedri in the 63rd minute of the game. The 21-year-old completed 17 out of 18 passes, delivered three accurate long balls but also lost five of his six duels.

This was Fati’s second appearance of the season after he had a short cameo in the 2-1 loss to Monaco on September 19.