Wojciech Szczesny made his Clásico debut at the Santiago Bernabéu, a stadium he already knew well from his time with other teams.
And though Barcelona lost, the Polish goalkeeper passed the test with flying colors. His sharp reflexes and composure under pressure kept the Catalans in contention until the end. There was little he could do to stop Kylian Mbappé’s opener – a precise, angled shot that left him with no chance.
Szczesny facing Mbappé
Szczesny had admitted beforehand that Mbappé “had his number,” and the numbers back it up: the French striker has now scored nine goals against him in six matches, counting encounters between Juventus and PSG, France and Poland, and now Real Madrid and Barcelona.
In last season’s 4–0 drubbing at the Bernabéu, it was Iñaki Peña who stood between the posts. That match, however, wasn’t Szczesny’s first time facing Madrid as Barça’s goalkeeper. His true debut came in last season’s Spanish Super Cup final in Saudi Arabia – a short-lived one, as he was sent off.
This time, Szczesny prevented the knockout blow by stopping a penalty from LaLiga’s top scorer with a superb left-handed save. Referee Soto Grado, following a VAR review led by Iglesias Villanueva, awarded the spot-kick for a handball by Eric García after a deflected ball was already trickling toward the byline. It would have been 3–1 and likely the end for Barcelona’s hopes.
It was Szczesny’s first penalty save since joining the club, after conceding all four he faced last season and the two this campaign. Earlier, he had also denied Huijsen a near-certain goal. He finished the Clásico with nine saves in total – a display that, despite the loss, gave Barça something to hold onto.