Marc-Andre Ter Stegen is back to his best as the German custodian has been one of the pillars for Xavi Hernandez's Barcelona so far this season. Ter Stegen, however, was often criticized for his error-prone nature between the sticks in recent seasons.
The former Borussia Monchengladbach star has found his form back and has been an integral part of the Catalan club.
In a recent interview with TV3, Ter Stegen revealed that during the Catalan club's clash against Real Mallorca on October 2, he made a save against Jaume Costa that helped him regain confidence. Here's what Ter Stegen said (via Barca Blaugranes):
“It’s been a spectacular year for me on a personal level and it started with that stop and that’s why I’m sticking with it, It marked me the whole year and my goal in terms of personal fitness. I feel super well and very balanced on a personal level. I feel good, I’m happy. When the team finds itself in difficult situations I like to be there to help.”
Speaking about the save that caused the change in his form, the Barcelona star said:
“We always go out to win and we are going to do everything to win as many titles as possible, We have a super good and super healthy team and I have no doubt that this will turn out well."
Ter Stegen has made 19 appearances for the Blaugranas so far this season, keeping 11 clean sheets across competitions.
"It's difficult" - Barcelona striker Robert Lewandowski on his three-match ban
Robert Lewandowski was sent off during Barcelona's clash against Osasuna before the 2022 FIFA World Cup break. He was sent off in the first half of the game for which he was set to serve a one-match ban.
The ace striker, however, was handed a two-match ban for his gesture towards the referee. He is now set to miss La Liga games against Espanyol, Atletico Madrid and Getafe.
Reacting to the incident, Lewandowski told SPORT (via Asianet):
"It's difficult because I feel that three games are too much for what I did, that's for sure. It's painful not to be able to play three games because of that. Nothing happened with the ref. The reason I got three matches was nothing to do with the referee. It was to do with the coach and me. That's all I can say. One or two weeks before, I chatted with Xavi, and he told me that I had to watch out if the referee gave me a yellow card."
He added:
"That was just a gesture to express that he couldn't understand what was happening. We had talked about it, and it was something between Xavi and me. I didn't understand anything."
Lewandowski has been Barcelona's main man in front of goal, netting 13 times in 14 La Liga games so far this season.