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Barcelona entered their Champions League last-16 second leg against Benfica on Tuesday with a narrow 1-0 advantage, and much of the credit goes to Wojciech Szczesny.
While Pedri was named Man of the Match for his role in the first-leg victory in Lisbon, Szczesny jokingly claimed he deserved “half” of the award—an assessment his teammate fully agreed with.
The 34-year-old Polish goalkeeper will have another opportunity to shine at the Olympic Stadium, with Benfica forced to attack to turn the tie around.
Szczesny’s crucial saves kept 10-man Barcelona afloat after Pau Cubarsi’s early red card, preserving the lead given to them by Raphinha’s goal. It was his best display since joining Barca on an emergency deal in October following Marc-Andre ter Stegen’s serious knee injury.
Szczesny’s journey to becoming Barcelona’s No. 1 has been nothing short of remarkable. In August 2024, the former Arsenal and Juventus stopper retired from football, terminating his contract with Juve and settling in Marbella to enjoy life on the golf course.
Later in October of the same year, he got called out of retirement after Ter Stegen’s injury, he took over the gloves from Inaki Pena, who had initially stepped up in the German’s absence.
Earlier this year in January 2025, the goalkeeper won the Spanish Super Cup but was sent off in the final against Real Madrid, admitting to a “bad decision”.
In the UCL league stage, he made two glaring errors in Barca’s 5-4 win over Benfica, raising concerns about his reliability.
Despite those early struggles, Flick maintained faith in Szczesny, a decision that has paid off handsomely. Since taking over, Szczesny has played 14 matches across all competitions, with Barcelona winning 12 and drawing two. His defensive contributions have been key to Barca’s turnaround. They’ve now kept 8 clean sheets in those 14 games
His impact has been especially crucial in Barcelona’s revival after a dismal end to 2024, when they threw away their La Liga advantage, falling behind Atletico Madrid before the winter break.
Despite his heroics in Lisbon, Szczesny remained calm about his performance.
“My best game for Barcelona? It is still to come, don’t worry,” he told Movistar, hinting at greater ambitions as Barca fight on three fronts for major trophies.
Barcelona are strong favourites to progress to the quarter-finals, where they will face either Borussia Dortmund or Lille. With Szczesny now settled and in top form, he could prove to be one of their most crucial assets in the Champions League run-in.
