Hansi Flick reveals who will start in goal for Barcelona vs Inter Milan and Real Madrid | OneFootball

FC Barcelona managed to secure an important win against Real Valladolid last night despite Hansi Flick choosing to majorly rotate the starting XI. Barcelona were trailing 1-0 in the first half, but goals from Raphinha and Fermin Lopez helped the team perform yet another comeback.

Flick chose to rest the 9/11 players who started midweek against Inter Milan in the Champions League, with Gerard Martin and Pedri being the only exceptions. Among those changes was a first start for Marc-Andre Ter Stegen since September, replacing Wojciech Szczesny in goal.

Club captain Ter Stegen has been out with an injury since September and has only recently made a complete recovery. In his absence, Barcelona made an emergency signing in Szczesny, who has ended up enjoying a brilliant campaign since the start of 2025.

With Ter Stegen now fit, it has been a question on everyone’s lips about who Hansi Flick would prefer going forward in between the sticks. In the Champions League, it has already been confirmed that the Pole will continue, especially since the German is currently not registered.

Hansi Flick Confirms Szczesny Will Start vs Inter and Real Madrid

Barcelona boss Hansi Flick looks on prior to the LaLiga match between Real Valladolid and FC Barcelona. (Photo by Denis Doyle/Getty Images)

When asked about the goalkeeping situation last night in the post-match press conference, as quoted by Mundo Deportivo, Hansi Flick has confirmed that Szczesny will remain in goal against both Inter Milan midweek and Real Madrid next weekend.

“Szczesny will be the goalkeeper on Tuesday against Inter Milan and also against Real Madrid.”

Szczesny’s Form Justifies the Decision

One would have to say at this point that Flick has made the right decision. Szczesny has been brilliant since the start of 2025 and is arguably the second-best in the world based on form, only after PSG goalkeeper Donnarumma.

As the age-old adage in the coding world goes, “When it ain’t broken, don’t fix it”. The goalkeeping situation at Barcelona is not broken at the moment, and it is only fair that the Pole continues to hold fort until the end of the season.

Once Barcelona wrap up the title, one can expect Ter Stegen to feature more as he looks to build his match fitness, and let’s wait and see how it plays out.