Barcelona are going through some tough times in recent times. They are struggling a bit financially and that has affected their transfer business. Barcelona are unable to get their transfer targets and have relied on their academy graduates to take the side over the line. The likes of Pedri and Gavi have seen tremendous growth in their career. These two are regular starters whenever they are fit and that has also given a boost to the manager. Xavi is giving more opportunities to his young talented players and they have given him the results.
In the current season, some Barcelona players have struggled with injuries. One first-team player who has been injured and is sidelined is their No. 1 choice in goal, Marc-Andre ter Stegen. The 31-year-old has been a regular for Barcelona since joining in 2014. However, he is facing a back issue and might require surgery to make himself available in the remaining season.
These were worrying signs for Barcelona but they had someone capable enough to replace the German goalkeeper. On came Inaki Pena, a young Spanish goalkeeper and another La Masia graduate. He has represented Spain at every possible junior level but has failed to make it to the senior team due to a lack of game time. He is not getting games under his name and here is how Pena has played for Barcelona in the last couple of months.
Great shot-stopper
Inaki Pena made his first appearance for the club against Rayo Vallecano this season. To date, he has five appearances for Xavi’s men. Barcelona are leaking goals this season and Pena has been unlucky to concede eight goals. The defence was broken four times by Girona and twice by Almeria in the last match. The 24-year-old has only kept one clean sheet and that came against a top Atletico Madrid side.
However, despite these defensive struggles, Inaki Pena has kept his team in most of the games played. He has made 14 saves and nine saves were reflexes saves. The above map shows that most opposition have found the corner of the goal and these shots become impossible to save at times.
The youngster has also played in the UEFA Champions League. Barcelona’s defence once again allowed the opposition to score four goals in two matches. Pena made six saves in these two games and all were reflex saves. Xavi’s unstable defence has allowed the opposition to score but Pena has put an end to some of the moves by making crucial saves.
Competing with the veteran
The left side shows shots faced by Pena and the right side shows Ter Stegen’s stats from the current LaLiga season. Marc-Andre Ter Stegen averages 0.88 goals conceded per 90 minutes. He made 2.24 saves and 66.7% were reflexes save. Inaki Pena, on the other hand, has averaged 1.5 goals conceded but has made 2.6 saves with 75% being saves with reflexes.
The youngster has also shown a bit of confidence on the ball. His passing stats are better than Ter Stegen’s when it comes to short passing. The player struggles a bit to find a teammate with a long pass.
Overall, Inaki Pena has given positive hope for Barcelona for the future. The Spanish giants might even sell him to make some money and put a buy-back clause on him. As of now, he has kept Barcelona alive in many games and Xavi will hope that Pena continues this good run in the future.
Visuals via TFA data viz engine