Promoted to the starting position since the serious injury of Marc-André Ter Stegen, Iñaki Peña retains the confidence of his coach Hansi Flick despite the recruitment of Wojciech Szczesny.
He undoubtedly expected to return to the bench with the signing at the beginning of October of the experienced Wojciech Szczesny (34 years old). But rest assured, Iñaki Peña (25 years old) should continue his temporary role in goal for FC Barcelona. Present this Saturday at a press conference, on the eve of challenging Sevilla FC (Sunday 9 p.m.) on the tenth day of La Liga, Hansi Flick once again maintained his confidence in him.
“I do not intend to rotate in this position. In principle, Iñaki will play tomorrow and Wednesday (against Bayern Munich in the Champions League). I do not intend to make any changes”, indicated the Blaugrana technician , while specifying: “I am very happy that Szczesny has arrived”. While he hung up his boots this summer after seven seasons at Juve, the Pole came out of retirement to join Barça until the end of the season in order to compensate for the long absence of Marc-André Ter Stegen.
Three size returns
Current leader of La Liga with 24 points taken out of 27 possible, Barcelona also records the returns of Gavi, Dani Olmo and Fermin Lopez. The first has been absent since November 2023 due to a serious knee injury and will take his place on the bench. “He’s doing well, I love watching him train because he really has an exceptional mentality, it’s really a good thing to be able to count on him and see his quality,” Flick said.
Olympic champion Fermin Lopez, who is recovering from a less serious injury to his right thigh, will be “available to play” on Sunday, while European champion Dani Olmo will surely have to wait until Wednesday to make his return to the field. Finally asked about the possibility of resting Lamine Yamal after his muscular discomfort which forced him to leave the Spain rally at the start of the week, Flick stressed that his winger had “recovered well” and was “ready” to play. He thanked coach Luis De la Fuente for releasing him.
Senegal
