Pedri claims teammate ‘saved’ Barcelona in Benfica clash | OneFootball

Barcelona star Pedri has on Wednesday evening moved to lavish praise on a fellow member of Hansi Flick’s squad.

The player in question? Wojciech Szczęsny.

Barcelona, of course, are fresh off securing an altogether impressive victory on the continent.

After making the trip to Portugal for a Champions League Round-of-16 first-leg showdown with Benfica, the Blaugrana found themselves a man down inside the opening 25 minutes of action.

In turn, it was all the more impressive, when all was said and done, that the Catalans managed to secure an advantage to take back to Spain for the return leg.

Owing to a solitary Raphinha strike, Barca triumphed by a goal to nil in Lisbon.

Whilst match-winner Raphinha therefore grabbed the headlines once more, though, it was the brilliance of one of the Blaugrana’s stars at the other end which truly made the difference on the night.

Back in from the off at the Estádio da Luz, Wojciech Szczęsny rolled back the years, conjuring up nothing short of a masterclass between the posts.

All told, the former Arsenal and Juventus man racked up eight saves, including several world-class stops.

Speaking to the media on the back of the full-time whistle, teammate Pedri, in turn, was not shy in admitting that the veteran shot-stopper ‘saved’ Hansi Flick’s men this evening:

“Szczęsny saved us. Many times. I am grateful to have him in the team. He is a great player.”

Conor Laird – GSFN