Szczesny reflects on performance during Benfica 4-5 Barcelona – ‘Never played with such a high defence’

Wojciech Szczesny was under the scanner as Barcelona secured a narrow yet thrilling 5-4 win over SL Benfica last night.

The Polish goalkeeper, starting ahead of Inaki Pena, had a horrendous start to the game as he gave away one goal while conceding a penalty.

Szczesny’s biggest howler was when he decided to come out of his line to clear a long ball from Benfica. But instead of clearing the ball, he collided with Alejandro Balde, thus allowing Vangelis Pavlidis to score a goal.

Szczesny explains incident with Balde

A day after Barcelona’s big win, Szczesny explained his collision with Balde and how it led to a goal for Benfica.

“I think the moment of the exit was good, but Balde didn’t hear me. Luckily, it was only one goal and we ended up winning the match,” Szczesny told Canal+ (h/t Diario SPORT).

“It was a misunderstanding, but it can happen because we were both going for the ball. I shouted and he didn’t hear me. It was a bit funny, but we ended up winning,” he added.

Szczesny had a disastrous start to the game vs Benfica Photo by Carlos Rodrigues/Getty Images)

Another error from the veteran goalkeeper saw him concede a penalty, which was successfully put away from Pavlidis.

Explaining the incident, Szczesny admitted it was indeed a penalty. “On the pitch, it seemed to me that there had been no contact, but after watching the replay, it’s a penalty,” he said.

Szczesny should indeed be grateful that Barcelona were able to secure a victory against Benfica, failing which could have led to some serious retrospection on the Pole’s performance.

This is in spite of the fact that Szczesny actually enjoyed a brilliant end to the game, where he made some crucial saves, notably denying Angel Di Maria from scoring.

In fact, Szczesny even acknowledged the save, stating, “It wasn’t the way to redeem myself. I was frustrated and it was my way of helping when we were looking for the victory and defending with only two players.

“We could accept the 4-4, but we wanted the victory. It’s Barça’s culture. We played very high and the save helped.”

Finally, Szczesny opened up about his first experience of operating as a goalkeeper in a high line of defence.

“I’ve never played with such a high defence. Wenger demanded a lot from the goalkeeper, but here the players are very far from me. At 34, you can always learn. It’s a great experience,” he concluded.