Barça's Backline Keeps Leaking, But Szczesny Shines in the Elche Test
3 November 2025
Defensive fragility persists despite goalkeeping heroics
Barcelona's defensive crisis continues despite Wojciech Szczesny turning in a string of strong saves. The Catalan club has not kept a clean sheet for more than a month and a half, in a worrying run of goals conceded as Juan Garcia nears his return from injury.
Match notes and numbers
According to Sport, Barca's latest win over Elche provided a morale boost after a sequence of mixed results, but it also highlighted clear defensive gaps as Szczesny was forced to collect the ball from his net again. He has conceded 12 goals in eight appearances this season, a tally that does not fully reflect the goalkeeper's performance.
Timeline of the action
With Garcia's return close, Szczesny seems short on chances to finish a match with a clean sheet. In a Clasico style moment, Szczesny saved a penalty from Kylian Mbappe and later denied a powerful shot from Rafa Mir. When counting the goals conceded by Szczesny and Garcia together, Barca have shipped goals in eight straight matches; the last clean sheet was September 21 under Flick in a 3-0 win over Getafe.
The run of goals recalls the Koeman era. Barca conceded in eight straight official matches, including showings against Getafe, Real Sociedad, Paris Saint Germain, Sevilla, Girona, Olympiacos and Real Madrid, with Rafa Mir adding another against Elche to prolong the leak.
In the Elche game, Lamine Yamal opened the scoring in the ninth minute after a clever passing move, Ferran Torres doubled Barca's lead in the 11th, and the hosts pressed for more before half time.
At halftime the score stood 2-1. After the break, Barca extended their lead through a stylish strike by Marcus Rashford in the 61st minute, then a composed finish sealed the result. Elche pushed for a reply, hitting the bar and the post but could not turn the game back in their favor. The final whistle confirmed a 3-1 Barca win, though the defensive issues remained.
What it means going forward is clear: Barca must shore up the back line and reduce moments of vulnerability if they want to stay competitive in La Liga this season.
Punchline: If Barca keep leaking, maybe the coaches should install a moat around the goal and call it a defensive upgrade.
Punchline 2: The only thing more porous than Barca's defense is a sponge at a water park, and it still holds more water than their backline.
