📸 Szczęsny might regret coming out of retirement after epic UCL howler 😅
Wojciech Szczęsny came out of retirement to answer Barcelona's call after Marc-André ter Stegen was ruled out for the season with injury, but he might be regretting it tonight in Lisbon after a howler of epic proportions.
After watching his fellow Pole, Robert Lewandowski, had levelled things up at 1-1, the former Arsenal and Juventus keeper charged halfway up the pitch to try and reach a long ball.
Instead, he only went flying into Alejandro Balde, allowing Vangelis Pavlidis to run onto the ball and tap into an empty net.
The 34-year-old needed treatment for the collision after being poleaxed. Excuse the pun.
It was at this exact moment, Wojciech Szczęsny knew he should have stayed retired. 😭 pic.twitter.com/Z4HusFGqgs
— Football Tweet ⚽ (@Football__Tweet) January 21, 2025
He then went onto concede a penalty for his side, giving Pavlidis the chance to score the third quickest hat-trick in Champions League history, and send the home fans into a frenzy.
3 - Vangelis Pavlidis’ hat-trick for Benfica against Barcelona was the third fastest from the start of a UEFA Champions League game (30 mins), after Robert Lewandowski vs FC Red Bull Salzburg in 2022 (23 minutes) & Marco Simone vs Rosenborg in 1996 (24 minutes). Rapid. pic.twitter.com/r78UJTUatT
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) January 21, 2025
It might have been easier to keep the feet up, Wojciech!
📸 FILIPE AMORIM - AFP or licensors