"In modern football, you need daring players" – Hansi Flick insists Barcelona are 'happy' with 25-year-old star
Barcelona manager Hansi Flick has claimed that he and his staff are delighted with Inaki Pena's goalkeeping displays so far this campaign.
Earlier on Sunday (November 3), the Catalan side extended their lead at the top of the 2024-25 La Liga table with a 3-1 win over RCD Espanyol. Dani Olmo netted on either side of Raphinha's goal in the first half before Espanyol's Javi Puado scored in the 63rd minute.
Pena, who rose through the ranks of La Masia, started his eighth straight match of the campaign earlier on Sunday. He registered two saves and completed 25 of his 26 attempted passes against his side's rivals.
After the end of the clash at Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys, Flick praised Pena for his courage on the ball and his ability to deal with a high defensive line. He opined (h/t Barca Universal):
"In modern football, you need daring players and the goalkeeper is the key. We are happy with Inaki."
Pena, 25, is likely to continue as Barcelona's temporary first-choice goalkeeper as Marc-Andre ter Stegen will be out for a long time with a serious knee problem. The Spaniard has kept five clean sheets and shipped seven goals in nine total matches for his club this season.
Barcelona, on the other hand, signed ex-Juventus goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny on a free transfer last month. The Arsenal youth product has yet to make his debut for his new club due to Pena's stellar form.
Hansi Flick elated with Barcelona ace after win
After Barcelona's 3-1 home league win over Espanyol, Hansi Flick claimed that he is elated to have Dani Olmo back from his muscle injury. He commented (h/t Barca Universal):
"He knows how to score and he was very important today. But Fermin [Lopez] also did very well against Bayern Munich. Olmo is back, we are happy with his re-debut."
Opining on having all of his senior midfielders fit now, Flick continued:
"Blessed problem. We will play with six midfielders. No, I'm joking. I'm very happy to have more players available, but we have to be careful with Gavi, who is coming back from injury, like Frenkie [de Jong], Fermin and Dani."
Since arriving from RB Leipzig in a potential €62 million switch earlier this summer, Olmo has scored five times in six total games for Barcelona.
Olmo, 26, will next be in action in the Blaugrana's UEFA Champions League clash against Red Star Belgrade this Wednesday (November 6).