Szczęsny or Iñaki Penya: one of the two will be responsible for guarding Barça’s goal in the Spanish Super Cup final. Since Ter Stegen’s knee injury, the chosen one had been Iñaki Penya. However, Szczęsny’s great performance against Athletic de Bilbao may have changed the situation in the goal.
Iñaki Penya And… a Punishment Too Costly?
Szczęsny’s starting position in the Super Cup semifinal caught everyone off guard. Nobody expected the Polish player to start, and in fact, he wasn’t in Hansi Flick’s plans. However, Iñaki Penya was 4 minutes late to a training session, and his tardiness cost him the starting position.
The German coach has been very strict about punctuality since the beginning of the season. Jules Koundé also started a match from the bench due to a scheduling mix-up. On this matter, Hansi Flick didn’t want to add fuel to the fire: “The noise outside is very loud. They’re professionals, and there’s no problem.”
However, Szczęsny’s great performance in the Semifinal against Athletic has reopened the debate about the goalkeeper position. The veteran goalkeeper proved to be very reliable between the posts and managed to keep a clean sheet. However, some think that trusting Szczęsny again would be a double punishment, perhaps unfair and disproportionate, for Iñaki Penya.
Barça’s Possible Line-up to Face Real Madrid in the Final
The only hint Hansi Flick gave in the pre-match press conference was that Gavi has a good chance of starting. The coach usually doesn’t give many clues about the line-up, so the uncertainty about the goalkeeper will remain until an hour before the match.
In defense and attack, there are no doubts, barring any unexpected setbacks. Lamine, now recovered from injury, will join Lewandowski and Raphinha. In defense, Flick doesn’t seem to have any intention of making last-minute changes.
The most likely starting line-up for the blaugrana team is as follows:
Iñaki Penya; Jules Koundé, Pau Cubarsí, Íñigo Martínez, Alejandro Baldé; Marc Casado, Pedri; Lamine Yamal, Gavi, Raphinha; Robert Lewandowski
