Ter Stegen set for his La Liga debut against Atletico
Last season, and despite Luis Enrique maintaining all year that the goalkeepers had not been designated competitions, Marc-Andre term Stegen was the stopper for the games in the Copa del Rey and the Champions League. Meanwhile, Claudio Bravo played in La Liga, winning the Zamora Trophy. The Chilean played every league game with the exception of the final one, when Jordi Masip started.
However, into the second season of Enrique’s shared goalkeeping strategy, Ter Stegen could at last make his debut in La Liga. That’s because Claudio Bravo was injured during Monday’s training session and will not recover in time to play against Atletico Madrid this weekend — therefore the German will be between the Blaugrana sticks.
Atletico, in just the third league game of the season, will be a big challenge for the young goalkeeper. He has not offered good sensations in his few appearances so far this season that he did last season, when he showed security and confidence beyond his years.
Ter Stegen was key in both the Champions League and the Copa del Rey successes. This year, though, in his first two appearances, he has looked shaky and there are doubts about him going into the game at the Vicente Calderon. In the UEFA Super Cup final in Tbilisi and in the first leg of the Spanish Super Cup he leaked four goals. Eight goals in two games is too many, even if you are not directly at fault for most of them. That said, it was his error which saw Mikel San Jose score from long range at San Mames to open the scoring.
His numbers have not convinced Luis Enrique so far this season. The Barça boss wanted to stick with Bravo in La Liga and give Ter Stegen his next chance in the Champions League game against Roma. Bravo’s injury obliges Enrique to change this plans, though. Ter Stegen will be in goal until he’s fit. Meanwhile, Masip will have to wait for the first round of the Copa del Rey for an outing.
