Replacement man comes out of retirement
Barça wins and sends emotional greetings to ter Stegen
September 25, 2024, 11:32 p.m
A nice gesture before kick-off. Another three points after the game. FC Barcelona is also holding its own with Marc-André ter Stegen’s replacement between the posts. Meanwhile, there are still discussions about what will happen to the Catalans’ goalkeeping position.
Even before it started, the FC Barcelona professionals sent a greeting to Marc-André ter Stegen. “A lot of strength, captain,” was written on the chest of the T-shirts with which the seriously injured German goalkeeper’s teammates arrived at the Estadi Olímpic de Montjuïc pitch shortly before the kick-off of the home game against Getafe FC. This time they were led by attacker Raphina, with Inaki Pena in goal. Ter Stegen’s replacement, who may soon have another number one in front of him.
Pena was given his first chance quite early against the second-to-last team, which he passed without any problems. Ultimately, he kept his box clean and Barça continued their winning streak in the championship under coach Hansi Flick. However, despite massive possession superiority, the Catalans only managed a 1-0 (1-0). With the seventh win in the seventh game, Barcelona maintains a four-point lead at the top of the table over champions, Champions League winners and arch-rivals Real Madrid. In the 19th minute, Robert Lewandowski scored the only goal of the game with his seventh league goal.
The star striker took advantage of an inadequate cross defense from Getafe keeper David Soria to take the lead. Afterwards, the league leaders struggled for long stretches with the guests’ stable defense, and the few good chances remained unused, some of which were negligent. In stoppage time, Borja Mayoral (90+4) missed a great chance to equalize on the other side.
Lewandowski may soon be able to welcome a fellow countryman. Former Polish national goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny, who ended his career at Juventus Turin almost a month ago, is not ruling out a comeback – at FC Barcelona. According to transfer expert Fabrizio Romano, he is expected to sign a contract for the remainder of this season on Monday. Ter Stegen is likely to be out for that long after he tore the patellar tendon in his right knee in the 5-1 away win against FC Villarreal on Sunday.
“I understand the difficult situation that has arisen for them after Marc-André ter Stegen’s injury and I think it would be disrespectful of me not to consider this option,” Szczesny was quoted as saying by Spain’s Sport . He revealed how much Barça’s offer appealed to him, “Sport” continued. “Sport” and “Mundo deportivo” also cited a report from the Polish portal meczyki.pl. Accordingly, the former national goalkeeper should complete the medical test on Thursday. Flick said in a press conference on Tuesday that they had confidence in Pena. The former national coach also announced further discussions and said: “We have to see what we will do in the future.”
