Wojciech Szczesny gets turned on in Spain

Second in the Champions League standings (15 points in 6 days) before the kick-off of its match against Benfica, FC Barcelona wanted to validate its presence, at least, for the play-offs of the competition. And for this match in Lisbon, Hansi Flick chose to start Wojciech Szczesny (34) in goal. A little surprise since it is usually Iñaki Peña who plays the role of number 1 goalkeeper for the Blaugrana in the absence of Marc-André ter Stegen.

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Unfortunately for Szczesny, his fourth appearance in the Blaugrana jersey (1 in the Champions League, 2 in the Spanish Super Cup, 1 in the Copa del Rey) since he came out of retirement last summer almost turned into a nightmare. The Polish goalkeeper had already distinguished himself in the final of the Spanish Super Cup against Real Madrid by being sent off just before the hour mark. This did not prevent Barça from winning, but Szczesny had not didn't really score any points. And last night it was the same.

Several errors for the Pole

While Robert Lewandowski had allowed the Culés to return to 1-1, Szczesny was guilty of the second goal scored by Vengeais Pavlidis, after violently colliding with his teammate Alejandro Baldé. Seven minutes later, the Pole missed again by causing a penalty after a foul on Kerem Aktürkoglu. A penalty which allowed Pavlidis to score a hat-trick and make Barça history. This is in fact the first time that a player has scored a hat-trick against the Catalans during the first half hour of a European competition match.

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The evening finally ended well for Barça and the Pole, who made an important save at the end of the match (5-4 victory). Even if everyone is happy with the victory, the former Juventus goalkeeper is expensive this Wednesday morning on the other side of the Pyrenees. Sports World wrote about him: “after a disastrous first half, during which he conceded three goals, two of which were largely due to poor judgment during his outings, he ended up saving the match, in a face- providential face-off with Di María, when there were already 4 – 4 on the scoreboard.

The press accuses the former Juventus

For his part, Markwho gave it a rating of 4, wrote: it was the surprise of the night. The coach had already left the door open for days for a replacement in the cages. It was Szczesny's first Champions League match in the culé jersey and he couldn't have had a more bitter start. He conceded a goal in the 2nd minute, on Benfica's first shot. And, in the second, there was a very serious communication error with Balde. In the third, he was guilty of the penalty. In the second period, there was a superb save from the Pole in the final straight on a shot from Di María. Perhaps the most notable international action.

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Pour AS, “Szczesny is the first hole in Hansi Flick’s management.” The Iberian media believes that it made a bad choice by aligning it last night. “Wojciech Szczesny's whim worked well for Flick in Lisbon and his privilege with the Pole puts the German in the spotlight for the first time, who on Monday afternoon had given the Pole so much praise in the room press release from Da Luz that his starting place seemed a foregone conclusion. A little over an hour before the match, it was confirmed. His first half was to be forgotten and, if he is not in the black legend of Barça's European evenings, it was because of the final result.

Flick defends his choice

AS added: “Beyond his occasional errors against Benfica, the simple act of giving the starting jersey to Szczesny was controversial and raised questions for the first time about Flick's management, who clarified that there was nothing “against Iñaki Peña.” The Pole did not give a sense of reliability during the Super Cup, where after some hesitant outings against Athletic in the semi-final, he was sent off against Madrid in the final. Iñaki Peña started against Betis in the Copa del Rey and at Getafe. His performance, correct, did not invite us to think about a change which seemed forced and which responded more to a balance than to a meritocracy. Quite the opposite of what we expect from a sober and honest coach like Flick.”

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The latter also defended his player last night: “Before the match we spoke to Szczesny, he made a lot of mistakes, but all players made mistakes in the first half. In the end he made a great save and saved us. Which player doesn't make mistakes? We win and we lose together. We don't have a goalkeeper for every competition. We see which is the best option when we prepare for each match. We analyze everything day by day. Szczesny suits our game and we decided to play him today. His experience and personality are important in matches like today (yesterday)… I don't think about who will play in each competition. The message is rather clear.