Wojciech Szczesny went to Lisbon to redeem himself. Just a month and a half ago, on January 21, Barcelona played one of the most remarkable matches in their history at the Estadio da Luz. They came back from 4-2 down with 78 minutes gone.
That night, the hero was Raphinha, who made it 5-4 in the sixth minute of stoppage time to complete an incredible turnaround.
The villain that night, or the one pointed at by many, was Barca goalkeeper Szczesny. He started the game, showing he had overtaken Inaki Pena in Hansi Flick’s pecking order. He had a game to forget.
Szczesny looked uncomfortable playing with such a high defensive line and conceded two almost comical goals. The first, a misunderstanding with Alejandro Balde, resulted in them colliding and Vangelis Pavlidis taking advantage.
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For Benfica’s third goal, Szczesny gave away an unnecessary penalty and was unable to save it. Later, he would partly make amends when he saved from a one-on-one with Angel Di Maria. It seemed as though he could save the most difficult chances, but not the easiest.
This made many wonder if Flick had done the right thing in giving the goalkeeper’s jersey to the 34-year-old Pole instead of Pena.
Almost a month and a half later, Raphinha scored again away to Benfica in the Champions League last-16 first leg — the only goal of the game — and Szczesny came back to redeem himself. In Lisbon in January, he had played his worst game for Barca — but this week in March, he had his best.
In the second minute, there was a deja vu. Balde made a defensive error in the same minute that Pavlidis had opened the scoring in January, but this time, Szczesny saved the team with a stop from Kerem Akturkoglu. It was an action that inspired the performance that followed.
Barcelona would end up playing with 10 men for most of the game after Pau Cubarsi was shown a straight red card in the 22nd minute. But far from being intimidated, Barca continued to dominate the ball and Szczesny took charge, making eight saves.
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He showed his best form in a complicated situation, making saves from a free kick by Orkun Kokcu and a header from Akturkoglu. In the 94th minute, Renato Sanches sent in a powerful long-range shot, and Szczesny stretched to ensure his clean sheet.
He showed composure and confidence and even when the pitch was filled with smoke from the flares, he did not falter. Man of the match was ultimately awarded to Barca midfielder Pedri, but it would have been as much deserved had Szczesny won it.
Barcelona’s decisions since first-choice goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen ruptured the patellar tendon in his right knee in Villarreal in September made sense when watching this match. The club went out to find a goalkeeper despite having Pena. This was a clear message to Pena, although the Spaniard was chosen to be the first choice in the following months.
Having been signed last October, it was not until January that Szczesny began to take centre stage and overtake Pena.
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Flick saw a lot of youth in his side, so he wanted a player with experience in goal. They wanted to sign an unattached player, but most of the options didn’t fit the bill. Szczesny, however, had a lot of experience.
It took a few months for the player to get back into a competitive rhythm, but club sources, who wish to remain anonymous to protect relationships, told The Athletic they saw in training that the player was struggling. In January, three months after his arrival, they decided to give him a chance. They wanted to ease him back in before the most important part of the season arrived: the knockout stages of the Champions League.
Szczesny’s start wasn’t the best. He didn’t have a particularly good game in the Supercopa de Espana final against Real Madrid or in the match against Benfica. In the games that followed, he looked uncomfortable when the ball came out to him — to the point where, even without extreme pressure from the opposition, he would sometimes send the ball out for a corner when unsure how to deal with it.
His performances improved and, on his return to Lisbon this week, he repaid the faith the directors had shown in signing him and Flick in choosing him as his No 1.
He did everything a goalkeeper should do. He didn’t give Benfica a second chance. He didn’t take risks when they weren’t necessary. In a game like this, the goalkeeper can make the difference.
“When you have only 10 players, it’s very important to have a fantastic goalkeeper on the pitch. And today he did a great performance. He saved us and helped us to have a clean sheet and I’m very happy for him,” Flick said in the press conference after the match.
“He had a great game, we are very happy,” Jules Kounde said in the mixed zone after the match. “It’s very important to have a goalkeeper who saves and makes the game easier.”
Szczesny left the stadium to the congratulations of the journalists. He left with a smile, joking with them that half of Pedri’s man-of-the-match award could be shared with him.
“Is this your best game with Barca?” a Movistar+ journalist asked him.
“My best game is yet to come,” Szczesny replied.
(Top photo: Pedro Loureiro/Eurasia Sport Images/Getty Images)
