Barcelona kept up their perfect La Liga start with a 1-0 win against Getafe at the Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys to make it seven victories from seven games in Spain this season.
Hansi Flick’s side are now on 21 points at the top of the table, four above arch-rivals Real Madrid. Robert Lewandowski was the difference-maker with his 19th-minute effort against Getafe and Barca were far superior to the Madrid team — it would have been comfortable were it not for the Blaugrana’s erratic finishing.
But this was an encouraging result after the news of Marc-Andre ter Stegen’s season-ending knee injury earlier in the week. Let’s take you through the key talking points.
Positive night for Pena — but Szczesny in the wings
Before kick-off at Barca’s temporary home stadium in Montjuic, their fans made themselves heard by chanting the name of Ter Stegen’s stand-in, Inaki Pena.
It was a bold show of support for the former Barcelona Atletic (previously Barca B) goalkeeper Pena, 25, who also stepped up when Ter Stegen was injured last season. This was a confidence-boosting performance for him as he claimed a clean sheet — the only real danger coming in the last minute of the game, when striker Borja Mayoral miscued a fine chance.
Pena had more touches (45) than any Getafe player. He only needed to make one save but he completed 30 passes with an 86 per cent accuracy. He was assured in his distribution and in sweeping up behind his defence, an area of his game which caused doubts when he replaced Ter Stegen against Villarreal at the weekend.
Pena had a quiet night against Getafe (Manuel Queimadelos/Quality Sport Images/Getty Images)
It’s unlikely to be the last we hear about Barca goalkeepers this week. As The Athletic reported, they have approached the now-retired former Arsenal, Roma and Juventus No 1 Wojciech Szczesny to become Ter Stegen’s replacement. A meeting took place between Flick and sporting director Deco earlier this week in which the club decided to look for an experienced keeper who could add competition and leadership to the squad.
Szczesny, the 84-cap former Poland international, announced his retirement from football this summer and terminated his contract with Juventus, but Barcelona’s interest in recent days has made him reconsider.
Club sources (who, like all those in this article, asked to remain anonymous to protect relationships) say Szczesny, 34, has agreed to join the Catalan club and is expected to travel there on Thursday. He is expected to speak with Juventus regarding a clause in the termination of his contract, but both Barcelona and the player’s camp don’t expect this to be a problem. Once it’s sorted, Szczesny will have his medical before completing his signing.
It was agreed Szczesny would receive a sum of money from Juve as part of this mutual termination. It was also agreed that the sum would be reduced if he decided to come out of retirement to play for another club before the end of June 2025.
Flick was coy when asked about the possibility of Szczesny joining in his post-match press conference.
“I only speak about the players we have in the club,” Flick said. “Inaki is our No 1 and he got a clean sheet today. We are so happy for him and that’s what counts right now.
“Inaki is 25, and the other guys are really young. If something happens, I also think that we need experience. Deco and I spoke about that, and we’ll see what happens.”
Szczesny retired earlier this year (Daniele Badolato – Juventus FC/Juventus FC via Getty Images)
Seven in seven for Lewandowski
Robert Lewandowski has gone from being unwanted by backroom staff last season to registering his best start in a Barcelona shirt at 36.
Last season, Xavi asked the club to sell the striker before he was sacked. But the Polish striker’s seventh goal in seven La Liga games continues his revival under Flick.
That effort gave Barca three points on a night where they had plenty of chances to secure the win. Lamine Yamal was in fine form again but just couldn’t find a goal while Raphinha and Eric Garcia both missed major chances. But this is what Lewandowski was brought in to do.
“For me, he is the best No 9 in the last 10 years,” Flick told the post-match press conference. “His job is in front of goal, in the box. There are players around him who can give him the last pass, and that happened today. His goal was the first time we played really fast up front, you could see the impact.”
The sequence mentioned by Flick took place in the 19th minute and was started by Garcia as he sped up play and passed to Yamal. The 17-year-old saw right-back Jules Kounde overlapping and offloaded to the Frenchman. His cross was misjudged by Getafe goalkeeper David Soria and Lewandowski was left with an easy finish for a striker of his quality.
“What has changed this season? I think we find more crosses and passes into the box and for me, as a striker, this is the area of the pitch where I feel like I can do good stuff for the team,” Lewandowski told broadcaster DAZN after the weekend’s win against Villarreal.
Garcia making progress in midfield
Garcia deserves a mention after completing 90 minutes as a holding midfielder for the second game in a row and putting in his best performance yet in that role.
Flick has been forced to trust the former Manchester City centre-back in midfield after a long list of injuries in that position — Frenkie de Jong, Marc Bernal and another defender who can play there, Andreas Christensen, are all out. Academy graduate Marc Casado was left as the only natural holding midfielder, so Flick needed to find solutions.
Garcia experienced an unfortunate first start in the Champions League against Monaco — he was sent off after Ter Stegen’s poor pass to him in the 10th minute. But since then, he has made some good progress.
Garcia showed positive signs against Getafe (Manuel Queimadelos/Quality Sport Images/Getty Images)
He completed 59 passes with an 87 per cent accuracy against Getafe, read players’ movement between the lines and showed his defensive nous in winning five of seven aerial duels.
“Eric has been improving,” Flick told the post-match press conference. “He was unlucky in the Monaco game, but he’s been working really hard in training and he did a good job tonight. I am pleased with him.”
Garcia isn’t the best fit for the holding midfield role, but he is proving important for Flick as he deals with a lack of players in that position and at centre-back.
What’s next for Barcelona?
Osasuna (away), Saturday, September 28, 9pm CET (8pm BST, 3pm ET).
(Top photo by David Ramos/Getty Images)
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