This week has been fairly mixed when it comes to Barcelona and their goalkeepers.
Iñaki Peña was dropped from the starting lineup by Hansi Flick after he was late for a third time to training.
Due to this punishment, it opened the door for Wojciech Szczęsny, who signed for Barça on a free transfer this season, to make a rare appearance.
Even though a lot was not expected from the Polish keeper, he managed to keep a clean sheet and make some impressive saves in the semi-final against Bilbao.
Because of this performance, Flick decided to keep Szczęsny in the net for the final against Real Madrid.
Unfortunately for the 34-year-old shot-stopper, he received a red card in the second half after taking out Kylian Mbappe.
Thankfully Barcelona were 5-1 up at the time and despite scoring from the resulting free-kick, the deficit was too much for Los Blancos to claw back.
One person who has been watching this goalkeeper debacle from the sidelines is first choice Barça keeper Marc-André ter Stegen, who suffered a season-ending knee injury in September.
Speaking after the Blaugrana lifted the Spanish Super Cup, Ter Stegen, who joined his teammates in Saudi Arabia before the final, praised the two keepers who are filling in for him: “Iñaki Peña and Szczesny have the level to play when needed.”
Finally, the German international provided a fresh update on how he is recovering from his serious injury.
“My recovery is a long road, but I’m starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel.”
