Germany watch: Ter Stegen’s weakness was exposed by Onana before the Barcelona game, says Hakan Calhanoglu

Remember that time when Marc-Andre ter Stegen thought he was better than Manuel Neuer? Well we’re not letting that go.

When Inter Milan faced FC Barcelona at the San Siro earlier this week, most people expected FCB to walk over them. Imagine our shock when, late into the first half, Hakan Calhanoglu managed to slot one past the Barca defense totally against the run of play.

Speaking to the media after the game, it turned out that Calhanoglu’s goal was a little more than just a well-taken long shot. According to the midfielder, Andre Onana had actually advised him on where to shoot during training to target Ter Stegen’s weakness.

“I’d talked earlier with Andre [Onana] about the possibility of kicking the ball into that corner where Ter Stegen is a bit weaker,” said Calhanogly to InterTV (via SempreInter). “Luckily, the ball found its way in and then we won.”

Lucky for Inter, but devastating for Barca. The Nerazzurri eventually managed to hang onto that 1-0 lead for the rest of the game, which puts Xavi and his team in a precarious position. One more bad result against Inter at the Camp Nou, and Barcelona could end up back in the Europa League.

As for the Germany angle — it’s time to ask whether MAtS really has a future as Neuer’s successor, if he still has such serious issues in his game to this day. With Alexander Nubel waiting on the wings, Germany’s keeper succession could skip Ter Stegen entirely. With the World Cup coming up and Nubel’s performances shining for AS Monaco, Hansi Flick might decide to switch up the goalkeeping hierarchy before the tournament in Qatar.