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Wojciech Szczesny’s resurgence at Barcelona has considerably benefited the crew, proving to be a wonderful determination for the membership. Nonetheless, one participant who has been impacted negatively by his rise is Inaki Pena, who has discovered himself pushed additional down the pecking order.
Proper now, Szczesny is acting at a degree paying homage to his greatest years as a goalkeeper. Throughout his time at Juventus, Arsenal, and Roma, he was a dominant presence between the posts, and he has now introduced that very same degree of confidence and reliability to Barcelona.
Underneath Hansi Flick, the stopper has not solely maintained his well-known strengths—similar to management, composure, and his skill to make essential saves—however has additionally improved in key areas, significantly in his skill to come back off his line successfully.
A have a look at the stats
Hansi Flick’s first selection is Wojciech Szczesny. (Picture by Yasser Bakhsh/Getty Photographs)
Since arriving at Barça, Szczesny has performed in 9 matches throughout all competitions. Apparently, he has conceded the identical variety of objectives—9 in whole.
Over these 9 appearances, he has spent 776 minutes on the pitch, which averages to conceding one objective each 86.2 minutes. This statistic barely betters his total profession common, indicating that he has settled in properly at his new membership.
One other key metric that goalkeepers are judged by is their skill to maintain clear sheets, and Szczesny has already demonstrated his prowess on this regard.
Over the course of his membership profession, he has managed 212 clear sheets in 560 matches, equating to a formidable 37.8% of his video games.
At Barcelona, he has managed to go one step additional. Out of the 9 matches he has performed up to now, he has prevented the opposition from scoring on 4 events.
These matches embody clashes towards Barbastro and Valencia within the Copa del Rey, Athletic Membership within the Spanish Tremendous Cup, and Alaves in La Liga. This offers him a clear sheet share of 44.4%, which is a noticeable enchancment from his profession common.
Ought to he handle to maintain Rayo Vallecano from scoring within the upcoming match, this share will rise to an much more outstanding 50%.
The story is kind of attention-grabbing
Wojciech Szczesny has carried out brilliantly. (Picture by David Ramos/Getty Photographs)
Additionally it is vital to notice that of the 9 objectives he has conceded, 4 got here in a single match throughout Barcelona’s high-scoring Champions League encounter towards Benfica, which led to a dramatic 4-5 defeat.
Which means that within the different eight matches mixed, he has let in solely 5 objectives, additional highlighting his spectacular performances.
When in comparison with Pena’s numbers this season, Szczesny’s influence is even clearer. Pena has conceded 25 objectives throughout 22 appearances, which ends up in an common of 1.13 objectives per recreation.
In distinction, Szczesny’s common is considerably decrease. Moreover, Pena has managed to maintain clear sheets in simply six of these 22 matches, translating to a share of 27.2%—far under Szczesny’s 44.4% at Barcelona up to now.
Szczesny’s arrival has not solely strengthened Barcelona’s goalkeeping division however has additionally given the crew a way of safety on the again. Along with his wealth of expertise, robust reflexes, and skill to carry out underneath strain, he’s proving to be an important asset.
If he continues on this trajectory, he may proceed past his present contract, making it much more troublesome for Pena to reclaim his spot within the crew.
