UCL | Why Barcelona made the right call
Barcelona faced a profound dilemma after their first-choice goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen was carried off on a stretcher on September 22nd, out with a complete rupture of the patellar tendon (in human terms, a severe knee injury) until god knows when.
Should they sign a replacement or trust the youngsters to step up, knowing ter Stegen will most probably not return until next season? Inaki Pena, the 25-year-old deputy, had his chance last season, when he played in 17 games… and conceded 32 times. Antwerp, Girona, Real Madrid, Athletic Bilbao, and Villarreal all shipped at least three behind Pena.
After ter Stegen’s injury, Pena kept his cool against Getafe (1-0 win, although he did have the lowest rating of all Barcelona players), but it happened again on Saturday. Barcelona, a perfect seven out of seven to start the La Liga season, succumbed to a 2-4 defeat against Osasuna. Hansi Flick did not point fingers, but you can have an educated guess as to who the worst player on the pitch was.
Could they find a solution from La Masia then? The 20-year-old Ander Astralaga, who gets his minutes for Barcelona B, is not rated that highly. Aron Yaakobishvili is his understudy at the moment. Diego Kochen might have had a long shot, but the 18-year-old from Miami is also nursing an injury. They had to look elsewhere.
Now, by the time you read this, Wojciech Szczesny might already be a Barcelona player, roughly 30 days after he retired from football and 45 days since the mutual termination of his contract with Juventus (which would have lasted until 2025). He will reportedly land in Barcelona on Monday, September 30th, to sign a deal until the end of the season.
At one point, the negotiations reportedly broke down. Szczesny wanted a guaranteed starting spot which Flick was reluctant to promise, but one can understand the 34-year-old Pole – he certainly has better things to do than sit on the Barcelona bench. But in the end, whatever the deal is, Barcelona made the right call and are getting the best available option.
41-year-old Claudio Bravo offered to help, but his best days are behind him; Keylor Navas was/is available as well, but he has not played regularly since May 2023. In Szczesny, Barcelona and Flick know what they will get. They will need it: to ease the financial burden (Barcelona are about 1 billion in debt), they will need to be successful in both La Liga and the Champions League. They need to win now. Only then can they break out of the ruthless cycle.
Factsheet MD2
Borussia Dortmund v Celtic | Celtic have never won a UEFA Champions League match against German opponents (P8 D2 L6), losing all of their last four such matches in the competition. Borussia Dortmund will be the fourth different German side Celtic have faced after FC Bayern München, Borussia Mönchengladbach and RB Leipzig.
Slovan Bratislava v Manchester City | Manchester City haven’t lost any of the 21 UEFA Champions League matches in which Erling Haaland has featured (W14 D7). This is the most appearances by a player for a single club in the competition without ending on the losing side.
Barcelona v Young Boys | Barcelona lost their final UEFA Champions League game of last season (1-4 v PSG) and their opener this season (1-2 v Monaco). In their history across the European Cup/Champions League (334 games played), they have never previously suffered three consecutive defeats.
Bayer Leverkusen v AC Milan | Bayer Leverkusen – who won 4-0 away to Feyenoord on MD1 – now have the third-best chance of winning the competition this term (7.7%), behind only Manchester City (22.6%) and Real Madrid (18.6%).
Arsenal v PSG | The last PSG player to score in the UEFA Champions League was Kylian Mbappe on April 16th (v Barcelona), with the French side attempting 71 shots without scoring in the competition since then. They’ve only landed 14 of those 71 shots on target, but have hit the woodwork on four occasions.
Benfica v Atletico Madrid | Atletico Madrid have only won once in their last nine UEFA Champions League away games (D2 L6), a 3-1 win at Feyenoord in last season’s group stage.
Liverpool v Bologna | Liverpool have won each of their last 10 group/league stage games at Anfield in major European competitions, scoring 2+ goals in their last nine in a row. Their last such defeat, though, was to an Italian side, losing 0-2 to Atalanta in November 2020.
RB Leipzig v Juventus | Juventus have lost four of their last five UEFA Champions League away games (D1), including each of their last three in a row – their longest losing run on their travels in the competition since October 2014 (4).
Lille v Real Madrid | Real Madrid have lost both of their last two UEFA Champions League away games against French sides without scoring, both against PSG in 2019 (0-3) and 2022 (0-1).
Aston Villa v Bayern Munich | This will be the second ever meeting between Aston Villa and Bayern Munich, with Villa winning the 1982 European Cup final 1-0 against the German side to win their only ever major European title.
