Barcelona manager dodges question on number one goalkeeper spot

Barcelona manager Hansi Flick has reportedly been swithering between continuing with Inaki Pena in goal, or restoring Wojciech Szczesny to a starting role after serving his suspension in the Spanish Supercup. His take on the matter on Friday did little clear that up.

Flick was asked whether Pena or Szczesny would be in goal in their Saturday night trip to Getafe at the Coliseum. The German coach was impressed with the Polish shot-stopper before his sending off against Real Madrid, but Pena was in excellent form both in the final and against Real Betis on Wednesday.

“Buah. I haven’t spoken with Dela [goalkeeping coach Jose Ramon de la Fuente] yet. We will sleep one more night, and then we will decide.”

Barcelona seem unlikely to rotate for their clash with Los Azulones, despite a Champions League tie with Benfica around the corner next week in Lisbon.

“For us, the next match is always the most important. We said after the break, we will only focus on the next match. I know we have a lot of matches, but we are thinking about how to beat Getafe, and then we will think about Benfica.”

That includes Pedri, who Flick said they had changed approach with.

“Will you tell him this or…? (smiles). We changed the philosophy with Pedri a little bit, because they rested him a bit more, and we said it’s good to have him on the pitch because he is an outstanding player, and also for him and his fitness. It’s good to start and keep playing, and then we can see, maybe we take him off. ”

“We changed the philosophy with him completely, but he is very important for the team, and he is everywhere.”