Wojciech Szczesny confirmed that “everything is fine” after he came off during Juventus’ Europa League quarter-final tie with Sporting CP because of heart palpitations.
The Polish goalkeeper left the field in tears after clutching his chest during the first half of Juventus’ eventual 1-0 win, and was replaced by Mattia Perin.
There was obvious concern for Szczesny’s welfare from players and supporters alike, but thankfully an electrogram conducted by medical staff at the Allianz Stadium determined there was not an issue with his heart.
Juventus tweeted after the game that Szczesny was “doing well”, and the former Arsenal goalkeeper was even able to speak to the media after the game about the scare.
“It was a fright,” Szczesny told Sky Italia. “It’s something that’s never happened to me before. I had trouble breathing so I was a bit anxious, it was a bit of a scare, but now I’m much better.
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“I was a bit anxious about it but we’ve done all the checks and everything is fine.”
“The truth is Mattia has been doing so well in training I let him come on,” he went on to joke. “I was tired and so Mattia was able to make a miraculous double save. Congrats to him.”
Indeed, Perin made vital saves in the second half to help Juventus, whose goalscorer on the night was Federico Gatti, earn a one-goal advantage heading into the second leg in Lisbon next week.
The winner of the tie will face either Manchester United or Sevilla, who played out an entertaining 2-2 draw in the first leg of their last eight encounter. A Marcel Sabitzer double had put Erik ten Hag’s United in complete control, but a late brace of own goals from Tyrell Malacia and Harry Maguire has put the tie firmly back in the balance.
On this edition of 90min’s Definitive European Power Rankings, part of the 90min podcast network, Sean Walsh and Jack Gallagher discuss the top 10 teams from across the continent after a busy week of Champions League and domestic football.
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