Marc-André ter Stegen and FC Barcelona are making great strides towards their first league title since 2019. The German international has played a huge part in the Catalans’ success, as the Spanish press once again pointed out. In addition, the goalkeeper is facing a special record.
“Historical” is how the Spanish sports newspaper “Mundo Deportivo” described Marc-André ter Stegen’s performance in the game against outsiders Elche (4-0) on Saturday. With the win, FC Barcelona extended its lead over Real Madrid to a whopping 15 points for the time being, the royal team will have to improve against Real Valladolid on Sunday (4:15 p.m.).
The DFB goalkeeper, who finally has the status of number one in the German national team due to the injury to Bayern keeper Manuel Neuer, was able to distinguish himself several times against Elche. “Another zero, that’s the best news for a goalkeeper,” the newspaper said: “The German is on the way to his first Zamora, perhaps the most historic in the Primera División.”
Marc-André ter Stegen could break the league record
This award is given to the goalkeeper with the fewest goals against at the end of the season in Spain. The trophy, which bears the name of the first winner Ricardo Zamora (season 1928/29), is awarded by the newspaper “Marca”. So far, Ter Stegen has not won the trophy in more than eight years.
Against Elche, the DFB star did not concede a goal for the 150th time in his Barca career, this season alone he has kept 22 clean sheets in all competitions. In 27 league games in 2022/23, the 30-year-old only conceded nine goals, which means an average of just 0.33 goals per game.
For comparison: The record holders Francisco Liaño (1993/94 for Deportivo La Coruña) and Jan Oblak (2015/16 for Atlético Madrid) each had a goal-against average of 0.47 per game at the end of the 38 games. Ter Stegen could therefore significantly undercut the record this year.