"Lowkey excited for a start without him", "Looks like he lost his privileges" - Barcelona fans react as veteran benched for Valencia clash

Fans have reacted to Barcelona veteran Robert Lewandowski being benched in their Copa del Rey quarterfinal clash against Valencia on February 6. The Polish superstar has been a regular for the club since his arrival from Bayern Munich in the summer of 2022.

Hansi Flick opted for multiple surprising rotations in their starting XI against Valencia. Wojciech Szczesny features as the starting goalkeeper. Jules Kounde, Eric Garcia, Pau Cubarsi, and Alejandro Balde form the backline with Ronald Araujo notably benched.

Frenkie de Jong, Pedri, and Fermin Lopez feature in the midfield with Dani Olmo and Marc Casado on the bench.The attacking line-up features Raphinha, Ferran Torres, and Lamine Yamal with Robert Lewandowski notably missing.

Fans took to X to react to the starting XI with many being happy with Lewandowski's exclusion. One Barcelona fan wrote:

"Lowkey excited for a start w/o lewa."

"Never rooted for Ferran so much in my life up until recently. That’s how bad Lewa’s been. Brace from the shark pleaseeeee," another user opined.

"Lewandowski benched. Get innnn," a netizen chimed in.

"I’m glad lewandowski didn’t start," a fan commented.

Fans continued to react positively to Lewandowski being benched:

"Looks like Lewa lost his privileges," a netizen alleged.

"No Lewandildo in starting XI means we will play fluid football," a fan joked.

"Seems like Hansi has been "resting" Lewy more and more," another Culer quipped.

Meanwhile, some fans also doubted Flick's decision. A fan wrote:

"It's disappointing to see Lewandowski benched. Is it ageism or tactics? Either way, it's unfair to a player of his caliber. This decision might affect team morale and fan support. Let's hope it's a strategic move that pays off, not just a controversial call."

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Barcelona boss Hansi Flick explains decision to choose Wojciech Szczesny as starting goalkeeper over Inaki Pena

Wojciech Szczesny - Source: Getty

In a press conference before the Copa del Rey clash against Valencia, Barcelona coach Hansi Flick explained why he chose Wojciech Szczesny over Inaki Pena as their starting goalkeeper.

He said (via Blaugrana Gram):

"Tek [Szczesny] I’ve said it before, because, really.. I know that you compare them to each other. I think everyone, and I’ll say this again, Iñaki is a fantastic goalkeeper. We chose Tek because of his personality, and, of course, his style. He’s really doing well. This is the way."

"Both of them are really great goalkeepers, and also our youngest talents are doing really well, so the decision was the one we made now, and we go on like this. It has nothing to do with Iñaki or Tek [personally], it’s to do with the team, and we always decide what’s best for the team, and this is the way I want to do it."

Wojciech Szczesny joined Barcelona in September 2024 after coming out of retirement. His signing came after starting keeper Marc Andre ter Stegen's season-ending injury in a LaLiga game against Villarreal. The Polish shot-stopper has made seven appearances for the Catalans so far, maintaining three clean sheets.

Barcelona have notably never lost a game with Szczesny as the starting goalkeeper.