Barcelona and Manchester City are on opposite ends of the corner in regards with their current goalkeeper dilemma. Whilst the Blaugrana went from having a solid goalie to an error-prone custodian, the Citizens have long been on the lookout for safe hands to guard their back net.
The result: both sides, in their frantic search for a better alternative, ended up worse than they were from the get-go. Luis Enrique’s crew, having decided on selling Claudio Bravo, made Marc-André ter Stegen as their number one choice keeper.
The Chilean who departed Camp Nou headed for the Etihad, where he ousted Joe Hart. A couple of blunders later, and both sides are now facing worrying issues.
The Catalan giants have already lost two games in La Liga; last season they lost five in total with Bravo in between the sticks. Only 29 goals were scored against the Chilean; ter Stegen has conceded 10 after only seven games.
If the German were to continue conceding at this rate, he will let in roughly 54 goals by the end of this season. Although it is unlikely, bordering on impossible, it is a number that depicts ter Stegen’s struggles.
His frustrations were summed up in Sunday’s 4-3 loss to Celta Vigo, as he attempted to clip the ball over Pablo Hernández only to bounce off his head and into the net. The 24-year-old later apologized, but the Spanish champions had already dropped to fourth by then.
Celta Vigo VS. Barca 4-3 FT. Olihan draamaa. Ja tästä vielä yllättäjien voittomaali, joka oli, noh, hyvin erikoinen. #Barca #terStegen pic.twitter.com/xteffSxyrl
— Esko Seppänen (@EskoSeppanen) October 2, 2016
Claudio Bravo is an unexpected curve ball, however, as Pep Guardiola was all but sold on the Copa America winner. Although the 33-year-old’s blunders have not been severely costly, they are worrying nonetheless.
In his debut game, Bravo did well up until the 42nd minute we he fumbled an attempt to catch a cross. The ball fell to Zlatan, who easily smashed it into the empty net.
@RennyFernandez ni goal blunder bravo pic.twitter.com/6bYoJAS4o6
— Anggia Ramadhan Hrp (@AnggiaRamadhanH) September 10, 2016
Known for being excellent with the ball at his feet and brilliant with distribution, Claudio has shown nothing but nervousness in those situations – as seen in the 2-0 loss to Tottenham.
Every time the ball goes near Claudio Bravo. pic.twitter.com/6fSjhDBg0J
— Paddy Power (@paddypower) October 2, 2016
The Roja shot-stopper has conceded seven goals in his first six games for Man City. Last season, Joe Hart kept clean sheets in his first five Premier League games; matches which saw them face Chelsea, Everton, and Crystal Palace.
Will Barca and Man City need to search for new, better goalkeepers? Only time can tell, but it won’t be shocking if rumors start linking the Spanish and English clubs with other custodians.
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