Hansi Flick says ‘the situation in goal has changed’ after veteran goalkeeper’s performance in Super Cup | OneFootball

Following a poor end to the last year, Hansi Flick was able to get his FC Barcelona team back into good form with the start of 2025, in which the Blaugranes have already won a trophy, i.e., the Spanish Super Cup.

The German tactician played his strongest available team for both the semi-final and final of this competition, barring one notable change, playing Wojciech Szczesny instead of Inaki Pena in the goal.

The Spanish goalkeeper was reportedly punished for arriving four minutes late to an activation session on the day of the match against Athletic Club by playing Szczesny in that game, and Flick decided to continue with him in the final against Real Madrid.

Fortunately, the Polish shot-stopper did not give any reason for complaint and showed his class in the match against the Basques. He was good against Real Madrid as well, but his time on the pitch was cut short in that game as he got a red card for a foul on Kylian Mbappe.

Inaki Pena conceded a goal after getting on the pitch following the red card but grew into the game following that initial shock.

Thus, Hansi Flick now has a selection headache for an integral area of his team. As SPORT has reported, he also addressed this situation as he spoke to the press ahead of the Copa del Rey clash against Real Betis.

The Barcelona head coach was clear that the situation in the goal has changed after the last few games:

“The situation in goal has changed. Szczesny played very well, and it was great to see after the break. He has an incredible mentality and helps everyone a lot, including the other goalkeepers. He can perform at this level.”

Afterwards, he also praised Inaki for his performance against Real Madrid:

“What I can say is that Iñaki was under pressure, but after the first goal in his first attempt, he showed that he recovered perfectly. That’s the best I’ve seen.”

For the upcoming game against Real Betis in the Copa del Rey, Flick will have a rather easy decision, as Szczesny is suspended for this game for his red card. But afterwards, the German will have to do his homework to ensure he divides games between these two players fairly.