“Should play every game”, “Insanely bad” - Barcelona fans slam decision to not include first team star in line-up to face Getafe

Barcelona fans have taken to social media to slam manager Hansi Flick for his decision to leave out goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny from their starting lineup. La Blaugrana have traveled to the Estadio Coliseum, where they are set to face Getafe in LaLiga today (January 18).

After a season-long injury to first-team goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen, Barca signed Szczesny on a free transfer. The Pole made a u-turn on his retirement from the sport in October to join the Catalan giants as their backup goalkeeper. While he has spent much of the season on the bench, the 34-year-old shone in recent games for the club.

Szczesny kept two clean sheets - in a 4-0 Copa del Rey win over Barbastro and a 2-0 win over Athletic Club Bilbao in the Supercopa de Espana. Although he started the Supercopa final against Real Madrid, a red card got him sent off in the 56th minute. However, Barcelona won the game 5-2 and lifted the trophy.

Despite the red card, his recent performances have endeared him to the Barca supporters, who want to see the Pole more often. However, returning to LaLiga, manager Hansi Flick opted for Inaki Pena, while Szczesny is on the bench.

Fans are not happy about this decision, and they took to X with comments like these:

"Why Pena over Szczesny," a fan was displeased.

"Szczesny on bench," another fan added.

"Szczesny should start ahead of pena," another noted.

"Hope this works out, would be better to play Szczesny in the UCL & Liga and Pena in the CDR. Keeper needs to play and to stay match ready but Szczesny playing once in 2-3 weeks in a big game is a risky move IMO," a fan said.

"p*na over szczesny is an insanely bad take mr. flick," another fan wrote.

"Szczesny should play every game," a fan demanded.

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Hansi Flick opens up on Ansu Fati's future at Barcelona

Barcelona manager Hansi Flick has discussed Ansu Fati's future at the club. The 22-year-old has struggled with injury issues this season and hasn't been selected by Flick when fit.

Notably, Fati has started just one La Liga game this season - their 5-1 win against Sevilla in October. Hansi Flick was asked about his future and the manager told the press (via Barca Blaugranes):

“I’ve been honest with Ansu. We talked about various options and now it’s his decision. If he wants to stay, that’s fine, he’s a La Masia player.... Ansu is very professional and always focused. I want to help him.”

There have been rumors about a potential exit for Ansu Fati this January. With the ball in his court, time will tell if the 22-year-old decides to continue his career away from Barcelona.