Is There Danger for FC Barcelona? Szczesny's Negative Record Against Atalanta

FC Barcelona will close the group stage of the UEFA Champions League this Wednesday against Atalanta (21:00 h), a match where Wojciech Szczesny will again be the starter. The Polish player faced 'La Dea' on 16 previous occasions with Roma and Juventus, with a negative record that, however, does not worry the Barcelona coaching staff at all. The '25' player has only managed to defeat 'La Dea' on a couple of occasions, adding 4 losses and 10 draws.

In those 16 matches (15 league and 1 cup), the Warsaw native conceded 24 goals (an average of 1.5 goals per match) and was only able to keep a clean sheet on two occasions. The worst defeat for the goalkeeper against his opponent this Wednesday was in the quarter-finals of the Coppa Italia 2018-19, with Juventus (3-0). The Bergamaschi would eventually reach the final, where they fell to Lazio (2-0). In his last appearance against the 'nerazzurris', in March 2024, Szczesny conceded two goals (the match ended 2-2).

Flick Settles the Goalkeeping Debate for Barça-Atalanta

In the press conference prior to the clash against Atalanta, Hansi Flick made it clear that, this Wednesday, it will be the Polish player who will once again defend the blue and garnet goal. In that sense, he justified his decision despite the debate generated by the number of goals conceded by the experienced goalkeeper in his recent appearances. "I know that if I say something good about Szczesny it seems that Iñaki is weaker, but I don't like that. I decide who plays", the coach began to say.

He also added: "Szczesny has great personality and we have decided on him for tomorrow, but both are good and in the past Iñaki did very well. I think of what is best for the team". The last time the Alicante player played a Champions match was on matchday 6, against Dortmund (a 2-5 victory for Barça). The Spaniard has conceded 25 goals in 22 matches, while the Polish player has 6 goals against in 5 appearances. In terms of clean sheets, the balance is 6-2 in favor of the Barcelona youth player.