Manchester City goalkeeper Stefan Ortega has been hailed for his brutal efficiency after he once again made the difference against Tottenham.
Former Germany goalkeeper Rene Adler has been full of praise for the Manchester City goalkeeper after his match winning intervention in the 2-0 win over Tottenham.
Ortega was the hero of the hour on Tuesday evening as he denied Son Heun-min a late equaliser when the South Korea was put clean through because of a slip from Manuel Akanji.
The German goalkeeper had only entered the game as a second half substitute for Ederson after the Manchester City number one was forced to retreat following a heavy collision with Tottenham’s Cristian Romero.
That did not mean he wasn’t sharp, though, as he made several big saves and the biggest of the evening when he essentially did the splits to stop Son finishing into the bottom corner and ensuring the game finished 1-1.
The praise for the save, and his performance, was plentiful after the game and Adler was certainly impressed, admitting an attempt at a similar save in his own career led to a significant injury.
“One-on-one is of course his great strength,” he said.
“He has a great sense of where the ball might go and just masters a goalkeeping technique, almost going into a split and covering the far corner with his right foot while staying incredibly straight in his upper body so he gives up a lot of space.
“Many would simply fall over. It’s just a lot of training. In terms of timing, in terms of feeling, in terms of mobility, in terms of execution, it’s just one with an asterisk.
“Many goalkeepers simply don’t have this mobility. I can remember a situation where I tried it too, so upright in Mainz to stay, my thigh tore.”
