Marc-Andre ter Stegen was reportedly a target for Pep Guardiola at Manchester City, before the club signed his Barcelona teammate Claudio Bravo.
The German’s ability to play accurate passes, and begin attacks, was valued by Guardiola and Barcelona, who have made him their undisputed number one goalkeeper following Bravo’s departure, after previously using him as their cup ‘keeper.
Ter Stegen is a very good passer, as evidenced by his statistics from Sunday evening’s 1-0 win away to Athletic Bilbao.
https://twitter.com/TheCataIanGiant/status/769991867433910272
One of those passes that didn’t reach their target could’ve proved very costly for the German, however. Ter Stegen under-hit a pass to Sergio Busquets, only for a Bilbao player to intercept the ball and find himself clear through on goal.
Benat Etxebarria went for power instead of finesse, and Ter Stegen stood tall, saving the ball with his face.
Ouch.
Ivan Rakitic scored what proved to be the winner for Barca after 21 minutes.
