Barcelona lost narrowly in El Clasico to Real Madrid, and in the final minutes had the chance to equalise against Los Blancos. That is despite Los Blancos being dominant for much of the first hour of the game.

That was only because of Wojciech Szczesny though. The Polish goalkeeper made a series of good saves at the Bernabeu, and while Joan Garcia was cited as one of the important absences, Szczesny was one of Barcelona’s better performers. The Blaugrana stayed in the game after Szczesny halted Mbappe’s penalty.

How Szczesny knew where Mbappe would shoot

Speaking in an interview with the club’s YouTube channel, Szczesny explained how he approaches penalties in general.

“I study a lot. Before each match, I watch the last 20 penalties taken by the two or three main penalty takers. Sometimes you pick up information during their careers. Some shoot differently depending on the moment in the match or the score. I try to have as much information as possible,” MD quote.

When Mbappe stepped up, Szczesny said it was obvious where he would be going.

“It was pretty obvious, he scored the last penalty like that. I was feeling confident, I knew he’d choose the same side. Then you just have to pray you get to the ball.”

Image: An early prediction for the 2026-27 third kit. @memorabilia1899

— barcacentre (@barcacentre) October 30, 2025

‘When Rashford is on form, he’s unstoppable’ – Szczesny

Szczesny continued on to answer questions from fans, and also explained that Robert Lewandowski was a poor loser when it came to table tennis. Lev Yashin, Gianluigi Buffon, Manuel Neuer and Petr Cech were the four goalkeepers he named alongside himself as the best five in history. He also had kind words for Manchester United loanee Marcus Rashford.

“When he was 18, he came onto the Premier League scene, and I thought he had something special. In training, when he’s on form, he’s unstoppable. We saw it at Newcastle; he pulled off a shot out of nowhere. He’s incredibly talented.”

Joan Garcia return imminent

Szczesny spell in goal is likely in its final stretches. While some reports say that Joan Garcia will not return until after the next international break, while MD say he could be back before against Celta Vigo. However Barcelona may decide against using him if Luis de la Fuente calls him up for the Spain squad. Garcia has now trained every day this week.