The Barca felt he had to make changes with the Copa del Rey final against Sevilla on tap this weekend
Barcelona coach Ernesto Valverde defended his decision to rotate his squad after his side were held to a 2-2 draw at Celta Vigo on Tuesday.
Goals from Ousmane Dembele and Paco Alcacer were cancelled out by Jonny Otto and Iago Aspas, with Barca reduced to 10 men in the second half when Sergi Roberto was sent off.
A host of regulars were rested for Barca, with Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez among those starting on the bench, as the runaway leaders stretched their unbeaten La Liga run this season to 33 games.