The goalkeeper’s position has been a rotating door for Barcelona This season. While Iñaki Peña Originally the role had, his latest behavior has opened the door to Wojciech Szczesny to take over. On the way into the second half of the 2024-25 season, Coach Hansi Flick has made a strong decision on who will protect the network.
Barcelona met an unexpected blow early in the season when Started goalkeeper Marc-Andre Ter Stegen received a seasonal injury. With Peña as the only available alternative, the club turned to the free agent market for reinforcements. Go into Szczesny, that came out in retirement in October To join the Catalan giants.
Despite Szczesny’s arrival, Peña strengthened her role as starter for the rest of 2024Leaves the Polish veteran on the bench and cannot make his debut. It changed in January 2025, following an incident in the Spanish Super Cup semi -final against Athletic Bilbao. Peña arrived late for a training before the match at the team’s hotel, which caused girl to execute disciplinary action. As a result, Szczesny made its official debut in a critical match.
Since the crucial moment, Szczesny has presented in five of Barcelona’s six matches, while Peña has only played in a. Until that point, Peña had appeared in 22 matches, admitted 25 goals and recorded six clean sheets. But his behavior before the Bilbao collision seems to have moved him to a secondary role.
After this weekend’s match against Valencia, Flick Treated the goalkeeping situation with a clear position. “A week of szczesny as the starter, two wins. One against Benfica and another towards Valencia. It is a difficult situation for Iñaki Peña. It is something that has been discussed internallyand we have made this decision“Pronounced girl.
Flick’s belief in Szczesny despite wrong
The start of 2025 has been transformative for Szczesny, who went from being an unused replacement to securing the starting role, Despite any remarkable errors committed in the month of January.
One of Szczesny’s most important mistakes occurred during the Spanish Super Cup final against Real Madrid, where he got a red card for a reckless challenge on Kylian Mbappe. Against Benfica in the Champions League, A mixture with teammate Alejandro Balde resulted in a target for the Portuguese side. Most recently, Szczesny was rescued by was a penalty during Saturday’s match against Valencia.
In spite of these moments, Flick seems to trust Szczesny ahead. The veteran goalkeeper’s leadership and experience seems to outweigh his temporary decay and strengthen his place as Barcelona No. 1 for the rest of the season.
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