Barcelona breathe easier after Joan Garcia scare

Barcelona’s night at Camp Nou came with a jolt just before half-time, as first-choice goalkeeper Joan Garcia slipped and failed to reappear for the second half of Wednesday’s La Liga meeting with Racing.

Garcia, who had started in goal, appeared to lose his footing late in the opening period. He finished out the half but did not emerge from the tunnel after the interval. Instead, the home crowd saw a new figure stride towards the goal.

Wojciech Szczęsny.

The experienced Pole, yet to feature this season for Barcelona, was thrown straight into the action, handed his first minutes of the campaign by Hansi Flick. The coach turned to the veteran rather than summer signing Dominik Livakovic, a clear show of trust in Szczęsny’s big-game pedigree.

The change sparked immediate concern over Garcia’s condition, but early indications around the club were far less dramatic than the scene suggested. According to RAC1, Barcelona made the substitution as a precaution, with the initial assessment indicating that Garcia has not suffered a significant injury.

The Spain international will still undergo further tests to rule out any underlying problem, yet the mood inside the club is cautiously optimistic. The hope is simple and sharp: that Garcia is cleared in time to return between the posts for Saturday’s clash with Sevilla, a fixture Barcelona can ill afford to approach with more uncertainty than necessary.