Barcelona maintained their unbeaten start to the La Liga season with a 5-1 win over Villarreal, but it is a victory that will worry manager Hansi Flick as star goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen was stretchered off in tears before half-time due to a knee injury. He claimed a corner and fell awkwardly, injuring the same knee he underwent surgery on in 2021. Barcelona was replaced in net by Inaki Pena and could see the match, but ter Stegen will miss several months. according to ESPN.
The German ranked seventh in save percentage among goalkeepers last season, playing at 73.5% in at least five games. His presence allows Barcelona to push forward with ease, knowing that there is a steady goalkeeper behind them who can stop any chances that come their way. While scoring 22 goals in six games is great for Barcelona, they have already allowed five goals in the league this season and with an xG against of 6.51 it could have been even worse.
During pre-season, players stated that Flick places an emphasis on creating chances and is comfortable conceding goals due to their front foot attack. But that’s a style that doesn’t work very well without a team having the best players. Barcelona’s injury list has grown by the day, with Gavi, Marc Bernal, Andreas Christensen, Frenkie de Jong, Ronald Araujo, Dani Olmo, Fermin Lopez and now ter Stegen all sidelined.
Having already dropped their first game of the Champions League stage, Barcelona must prove they are once again contenders for the La Liga title and trophies around the world. Although there are young depth options in other positions on the pitch, goalkeeper was not one of them.
Pena has made 13 league appearances for Barcelona in recent seasons and 10 times last season, but has only kept two clean sheets. That is a trend that will not be able to continue, because the matches in October will become more difficult for Barcelona. We will see if Barcelona is back against Bayern Munich and an El Clasico against Real Madrid, but without Ter Stegen those games will be difficult to get results from. That’s when Flick may need to change tactics to protect his defence, something to keep an eye on as Barcelona look to keep their powerful attack going.