The German shot-stopper was called into action in the second half of what was otherwise a quiet game for him at the Manuel Martinez Valero.
Ronald Koeman suggests FC Barcelona are fortunate to have Marc Andre ter Stegen while praising the goalkeeper for his display in Sunday’s outing against Elche.
Barcelona sealed a comfortable 2-0 win over the 19th-placed La Liga side but the result could have been different had Ter Stegen not made a crucial save in the second half.
Emiliano Rigoni had only the goalkeeper to beat after breaking forward following a mistake in defense. But he was unable to find the equalizer as the 28-year-old shot-stopper came out to meet him and produced a right-footed block on his shot.
The German’s heroics helped Barca keep a second successive clean sheet in La Liga, and the manager made sure to highlight the contribution of his goalkeeper after the game.
“I’m very happy with how we won [the game],” Koeman said after the full-time whistle, via Marca.
“We were better than our opponents. We were patient. We won possession. It was difficult to score because they had lots of men behind the ball. But we pressed well.
“They didn’t have chances – they only had one chance and it came from a big mistake from our defence.
“But Ter Stegen was very good in the one-on-one [chance]. Luckily we have a good goalkeeper because they could’ve equalized there.
“Defensively, apart from that mistake, we did well. The best thing about today was our pressing and our performance without the ball. We deserved to win.”
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