Foot & Soccer Soccer Match Reports, Football News 
Barcelona’s goalkeeping scenario has taken an surprising flip this yr, with Wojciech Szczesny firmly establishing himself because the crew’s first-choice goalkeeper.
The Polish shot-stopper has now stored 5 clear sheets in his ten appearances, a statistic that displays his rising affect between the posts.
This growth is especially stunning on condition that Hansi Flick initially positioned his belief in Inaki Pena as the principle choice at the beginning of the season.
Nevertheless, Pena’s place suffered a big setback as a consequence of an important mistake—arriving late for a coaching session.
Flick is understood for his strict self-discipline, and lateness is one thing he doesn’t tolerate. Because of this, Pena was sidelined, permitting Szczesny to step up and seize his alternative.
Szczesny is No. 1
For the reason that thrilling encounter towards Benfica, Szczesny has cemented his standing because the undisputed primary. That match was a rollercoaster of feelings, that includes moments of brilliance in addition to expensive errors.
Wojciech Szczesny is but to lose a recreation with Barcelona. (Photograph by Alex Caparros/Getty Photographs)
The Polish goalkeeper had a mixture of highs and lows, together with a collision with Alejandro Balde that led to a objective and a late penalty choice. Regardless of these setbacks, he additionally produced some essential saves within the dying moments of the sport.
Szczesny’s impression has been plain, taking part in 10 matches and avoiding defeat in all of them. Barcelona have received 9 of these encounters, with just one draw coming towards Atalanta within the Champions League.
Numbers are optimistic
Statistically, the numbers favour Szczesny. Barcelona have conceded simply 9 objectives in his ten video games, averaging 0.9 per match.
His performances have performed an important function within the crew’s resurgence in La Liga, the place they’ve managed to chop Actual Madrid’s lead by seven factors inside simply three fixtures. This resurgence has positioned Barcelona firmly in competition for the highest spot within the league.
Then again, Pena now finds himself in a tough scenario. After having fun with a privileged place earlier within the season, he has fallen down the pecking order.
In the mean time, it’s unclear how he might reclaim his beginning function, as Flick doesn’t appear inclined to rotate goalkeepers throughout completely different competitions. Except circumstances change, Pena faces an uphill battle to regain his place within the beginning XI.
