Hansi Flick talks Araujo, Christensen, Ter Stegen, Szczesny, Gavi, Raphinha after Real Valladolid 1-2 Barcelona | OneFootball

Despite putting in an almost completely rotated starting eleven for this game, FC Barcelona were still able to win and get all three points from their last league match against Real Valladolid.

Getting this win was not really easy. The hosts went ahead early in the game, and throughout the first half, remained ahead of the Blaugranes. However, the Catalan side’s coach brought in some of his trusted players in the second half, who were able to turn around the scores and ensure their team left with the full three points.

Naturally, Hansi Flick was quite pleased with his team’s performance, and he expressed his pleasure in a press conference held after the game.

As SPORT has reported, the German tactician made it clear that he was satisfied with his team’s performance, while also admitting that the team suffered more than it should have:

“I’m satisfied. We suffered more than we should have, but the objective was the three points. I’m not disappointed. When you make 9 changes it’s not easy for them. They’re young and I believe in them. They show that they give everything, but it wasn’t easy. It seemed dangerous, but in the end, Araujo or Christensen did well. And Ter Stegen showed how good he is.”

Continuing about Ter Stegen, the Barcelona coach also confirmed who will start the next two games in the goal:

“‘Tek’ will play in the Champions League against Inter and in the Clásico against Madrid. That is our plan. But today I’m very happy with Marc’s return.”

Two Blaugrana players suffered injury problems in this game, and Hansi Flick provided an update on their situations:

“Gavi is fine. He told me he was okay, but we have to wait until tomorrow. I’m very sad for Dani; he was coming off injuries and it was his first match with us. We were very happy. He showed what we see in training, he tries things. We’ll take care of him and when he returns, he’ll train with us again.”

FC Barcelona player Fermin Lopez celebrating his goal. [Photo by Denis Doyle/Getty Images]

The German trainer also explained his decisions about the minutes played by his regular starters:

“The goal we conceded was bad luck. The substitution of Frenkie and Pedri was clear, it was 45 minutes for each. Raphinha and Lamine would surely have played, though maybe a little less. Even so, they were able to rest.”

The Barcelona coach also explained the role of Dani Olmo and Fermin Lopez in this game:

“We put Olmo as a 10 and Fermín as a 9 to involve him more in the game and to attack better against such a low block. It’s not easy to play as a striker when you’re a midfielder, you want to have the ball, and I think it was better for him. Fermín always has chances to start, in his position or others, he can play in different roles. Tomorrow they will rest and when we travel to Milan we will decide.”

Undoubtedly, this was a highly valuable win for the Catalans. This win not only got the full three points for the Catalans, but also means they will be going into the crucial UEFA Champions League match against Inter Milan in the best of spirits, while Hansi Flick was also able to rest almost all his starters for that game.