Barça saw their 24-game unbeaten streak in 2025, with 20 wins and four draws, come to an end in the quarter-final second leg against Borussia Dortmund. Another streak that came to an end was that of Szczesny.
The German goalkeeper, who has been a regular starter in 2025, had not lost a game for Barcelona since his arrival. The Polish player ended his 22-game unbeaten streak—12 of them without conceding a single goal—and fell one game short of equaling Cruyff’s record.
Borussia took a 2-0 lead thanks to a well-worked goal. Betis’ Natan made life difficult for Barça at Montjuïc with the equalizer in their last league slip-up, which ended a record-breaking run. Also in the Copa del Rey, Julián Álvarez scored from a corner at the Estadi Lluís Companys on the night of the crazy 4-4 draw.
Three of the last 11 goals conceded by Szczesny came from corners. Despite this, Szczesny usually comes out on top and saves a much higher percentage of crosses than Ter Stegen, Iñaki Peña, and all the other goalkeepers Barça has had in the 21st century.
Perhaps the problem lies not so much with the goalkeeper, but with the absence of Iñigo Martínez, who coincidentally was not there to defend these situations against either Borussia or Real Betis. Iñigo Martínez is one of Flick’s untouchables. He has already played 2,133 minutes in La Liga, keeping a clean sheet on six occasions. He is also the player who has won the most duels in the entire competition with 74.2%. In addition, Iñigo Martínez is one of the best center backs in the air, winning 65% of his aerial duels.
The center back was not present in Germany as a precaution. With the tie well in their favor, Hansi Flick opted for caution so as not to lose a key player in the next round. “We have confidence in all the players, but we have thought about the yellow card, of course,” he acknowledged. Iñigo Martínez has started every Champions League game, except for the two he missed through injury, against Benfica and Atalanta in the group stage.
In any case, Tek and Barça said goodbye to their winning streak, but celebrated reaching the Champions League semi-finals, something that had not happened for six years, when Barça faced Liverpool and were eliminated after a great comeback by the English side.