Barcelona coach facing major selection dilemma in key position ahead of Getafe clash

Inaki Pena was quite clearly in the driver’s seat as Barcelona’s number-one goalkeeper this season until he arrived late to training ahead of the Spanish Super Cup semi-final vs Athletic Club.

Dropped from the starting lineup as a punishment, the Spaniard saw Wojciech Szczesny ascend into the lineup against the Basque club and the Polish goalkeeper dished out a fine performance.

His merit earned him a seat in the finale against Real Madrid where he also did well until he was sent out for a foul on Kylian Mbappe.

Szczesny’s suspension saw him miss the Copa del Rey game against Real Betis, but Hansi Flick now has a big decision to make.

A critical choice

Speaking to the media ahead of Barcelona’s recent clash against Los Verdiblancos, the German manager made it clear that he valued the veteran goalkeeper’s level and that the situation in goal was indeed intensely competitive.

Now, he has a big decision to make as to who starts between the sticks against Getafe tomorrow night.

The player who gets the nod will likely continue as the team’s first choice for the rest of the season.

While Szczesny has been brilliant in all his games so far, Pena understandably took longer to get into his groove.

At this point, however, he too is showing a great level and the decision for Flick is not very clear.

All eyes will thus be on Flick’s announcement of the starting lineup against Getafe to see whom he entrusts with the responsibility of covering Barcelona’s goal from here on.

There will indeed be rotations, but one player is likely to have more prominence than the other.