Szczesny on Mbappe’s expected penalty: It was quite clear

Barcelona were narrowly beaten in El Clasico by Real Madrid, but in the final minutes they had the chance to equalise against “Los Blancos”, despite the Madrid team dominating for most of the first hour of the match.

This was only possible thanks to Wojciech Szczesny. The Polish goalkeeper made a series of excellent saves at the “Bernabeu”, and although the absence of Joan Garcia was considered important, Szczesny proved to be one of Barcelona’s best players. The “Blaugrana” stayed in the game after the Pole saved Kylian Mbappé’s penalty.

Speaking in an interview on the club’s official YouTube channel, Szczesny explained how he approaches penalties in general:

“I study a lot. Before every match, I watch the last 20 penalties of the two or three main takers. Sometimes you can notice something during their career. Some shoot differently depending on the moment of the match or the score. I try to have as much information as possible,” Mundo Deportivo quoted him as saying.

When Mbappé stepped up to take the shot, Szczesny said it was clear where the Frenchman was going to aim:

“It was quite clear, he had taken the last penalty like that too. I felt confident, I knew he would choose the same side. Then, you just have to pray that you catch the ball.”