Hansi Flick has clear five reasons for Barcelona goalkeeper stance | OneFootball

Since the start of 2025, Barcelona have made a significant switch in their team, and that is Wojciech Szczesny starting ahead of Inaki Pena. The latter had been first-choice goalkeeper since Marc-Andre Ter Stegen suffered a second-ending knee injury back in September, but he is now back on the bench, with the Polish veteran having been entrusted by head coach Hansi Flick.

This decision has confused and frustrated Pena, who had been playing relatively well before the change. Szczesny has also made a number of high-profile mistakes since being installed as the starter, but despite this, Flick is not considering reverting back to the way things were in the first half of the season.

Flick is clear on the idea that Szczesny is the better goalkeeper for Barcelona to use, and as per Sport, he has several reasons for taking this stance.

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Szczesny is undoubtedly more experienced than Pena, having spent well over 10 years at the likes of Arsenal, AS Roma and Juventus prior to his move to Barcelona earlier this season. In Flick’s eyes, this is invaluable for his line-up. Furthermore, he also believes that the 34-year-old is a better communicator on the pitch, while he is also of the opinion that Szczesny is better with the ball at his feet, which is an essential requirement for the style of play that the German coach has implemented.

Flick also believes that Szczesny is a more clutch goalkeeper than Pena, in that he would expect the veteran to make big saves at big moments more so than the Spaniard. Finally, Flick believes that he has more room for improvement than Pena, who is seen as having nearly reached his peak – while the Pole, with regular playing time, will continue to get even better.

Judging by the last few weeks, this is a risky decision from Flick, although it is one that he is backing wholeheartedly.