The performance of Wojciech Szczesny against Atalanta reflected his struggles in previous matches with Barcelona, including games against Barbastro, Athletic Club, Real Madrid, Benfica and Valencia.
As before, Szczesny could not do much to avoid the objective of Ederson that the score match and could not blame the 2-2.
However, it is quite clear that his performance left room to improve, particularly in his hesitation with the ball. Despite having played six games, Szczesny still seemed to be adjusted and struggling to find his rhythm.
A look at statistics
Looking at their statistics, things do not improve for the Polish goalkeeper. In the 20 shots they face so far Eight have resulted in objectivesgiving him a Savings percentage of only 60%. This figure stays behind both Once, 62.69% and 69.57% of Marc-Andre Ter Stegen.
Its history in Barcelona has also been difficult. In his debut against Barbastro, he did not have an important job to do, but left doubts about his decision making at the exits during the semifinal of the Super Cup against Athletic Club.
In the Spanish Super Cup final in Jeddah against Real Madrid, the Szczesny Red Card left the exhibited team, but Barcelona managed to leave 5-2 Victorus.
They have continued bad performances
Then, there was a disastrous performance in Lisbon, where he collided with Alejandro Balde, which resulted in the goal of Vangelis Pavlidis. He also granted a penalty and could not effectively communicate with Ronald Araujo, which led to his own goal.
Against Valencia, he was lucky when Var was saved by a penalty. His best moment until now was a brilliant salvation of a cross shot by Angel Di María during a 5-4 chaotic victory in Lisbon.
Despite these problems, Hansi Flick has made it clear that Szczesny remains his first -choice goalkeeper, at least for now. The goalkeeper’s transition back to professional football has been everything but easy.
Is it time to change?
After announcing his retirement in July, he spent three months without any football activity, which made it difficult for him to reach his desired level of performance.
Flick, however, has chosen to keep it in the initial alignment, perhaps with the hope that the regular game of the game will help him recover his physical condition.
There is no doubt that Szczesny has been the best goalkeeper in the past, having had successful spells in Arsenal and Juventus, and is a respected figure in the locker room.
However, it is undeniable that he is not acting at the same level in Barcelona at this time. The key question is whether this is just a matter of time before it recovers, or if it will never return to the level that made it one of the best goalkeepers in Europe.
For now, Flick has not yet celebrated a victory with Szczesny in the goal, but has decided to keep him for the next match against Alaves.
Meanwhile, Pena continues to accept its role as support, probably with the hope of the opportunity to intervene during the next Cup match on February 6.