Settled Wojciech Szczesny paying off Barcelona bet as Benfica visit in Champions League
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Barcelona's Wojciech Szczesny in action during a 4-1 La Liga win over Sevilla at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan on Feb 9.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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BARCELONA – Barcelona hold a slender lead over Benfica ahead of their Champions League last-16, second-leg clash on March 11, and goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny deserves a fair share of the credit for it.
Pedri was named Man of the Match in Barca’s 1-0 win in Lisbon on March 5, but Polish veteran Szczesny said he merited at least “half” of the award, and the Spain midfielder said his teammate should have it.
The 34-year-old custodian will get another chance to win one himself at the Olympic Stadium, with Portuguese visitors Benfica needing to go on the attack to turn the tie around.
With Barcelona down to 10 men in the first leg after Pau Cubarsi’s early red card, Szczesny made several fine saves to help the Catalan side hold on after Raphinha sent them ahead.
It was his best performance since arriving at Barcelona in October on an emergency basis, after first-choice goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen suffered a severe knee injury.
“He is fantastic, he helped us a lot, that is his job, we cannot hide it,” said Barca coach Hansi Flick.
Former Arsenal and Juventus custodian Szczesny came out of retirement to join the Catalan giants and has become Flick’s No. 1 in 2025, repaying his coach for his decision to back him ahead of Inaki Pena.
In August 2024, he hung up his boots and gloves, agreeing to terminate his deal with Juventus, before heading to the south of Spain to enjoy his new life.
“In September I was retired from football and I was enjoying my life on the beaches and golf courses of Marbella,” said Szczesny on Instagram in January, after winning the Spanish Super Cup in Saudi Arabia.
The goalkeeper was sent off in the final against Real Madrid, accepting he made a “bad decision”.
Later that month, he also committed two glaring errors in Barca’s thrilling 5-4 group-stage win over Benfica but, in the weeks since, he has improved rapidly, with Flick maintaining his faith in him.
Szczesny has now played 14 times for Barcelona across all competitions, with the club winning 12 of those matches and drawing the other two, despite his early wobbles.
As well as helping the team stay unbeaten, the goalkeeper has recorded eight clean sheets and seems settled, calmer with the ball at his feet than a few weeks ago.
Szczesny’s solid performances between the sticks have underpinned Barcelona’s revival after a dismal end to 2024.
With a run of four defeats in seven league games, the Catalan side threw away their advantage in La Liga, usurped by Atletico Madrid in the final match before the winter break.
Szczesny has started every Barcelona match in 2025 bar two, one of which he was suspended for after the Super Cup dismissal.
Pena had started well after stepping in for the injured ter Stegen but despite making no obvious mistakes, did not inspire full confidence in the defenders ahead of him.
Flick said watching Szczesny on a daily basis at the training ground, he began to see that the veteran stopper could perform at a higher level.
“When you watch players in training, you get a feeling, I discuss it with my staff, I see how the players work and what level they can reach,” the German said on March 7.
“It was clear to everyone that Szczesny could reach this level. We all knew it. I make the decisions, but I talk with my coaching staff.”
The coach received his reward with Szczesny’s first-leg display against Benfica. However, when asked if it was his best performance for Barcelona, the goalkeeper produced a cool response.
“It is still to come, don’t worry,” he told Movistar, with Barca fighting on three fronts for major trophies.
Barcelona are firm favourites to progress against Benfica given their first-leg lead, and the winners of the tie will face Borussia Dortmund or Lille in the quarter-finals. AFP
