Since the beginning of 2025, Barcelona has made an important switch in their team, and that is Wojciech Szczesny who starts for Inaki Pena. The latter was the first-choice goalkeeper since Marc-Andre ter Stegen sustained a second-ending knee injury in September, but he is now back on the couch, with the Polish veteran entrusted by head coach Hansi Flick.
Pena confused and frustrated this decision, who had played relatively well for a change. Szczesny has also made a number of controversial mistakes since he is installed as a starter, but despite this considering returning to the way things were in the first half of the season.
Flick is clear about the idea that Szczesny is the better goalkeeper for Barcelona to use, and according to Sport he has several reasons to adopt this attitude.
Szczesny is undoubtedly more experienced than Pena, who has spent more than 10 years at Arsenal, AS Roma and Juventus prior to his move to Barcelona earlier this season. In the eyes of Flick, this is invaluable for his line-up. He also believes that the 34-year-old is a better communicator on the field, while he also believes that Szczesny is better with the ball at his feet, which is an essential requirement for the playing style that the German coach has implemented.
Flick also believes that Szczesny is a more clutch keeper than Pena, in the sense that he would expect that the veteran would make big saves at big moments more than the Spaniard. Finally, Flick believes that he has more room for improvement than Pena, which is seen as almost reached its peak – while the pole, with regular playing time, will be even better.
Based on the past weeks, this is a risky decision by Flick, although there is one that he is cordially supporting.
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