Stefan Ortega: Incredible stat underlines Man City goalkeeper’s impact off the bench

Manchester City defeated Tottenham Hotspur at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium for the first time in the Premier League, and they were beneficiaries of Stefan Ortega’s heroics. 

Pep Guardiola’s team secured a 2-0 win over the North London side to edge two points clear of Arsenal in the title race with the season’s culmination imminent. 

Erling Haaland’s second-half brace at Tottenham ended the club’s drought at Spurs’ new ground, with the Norwegian the first player to score an away Premier League goal at the Lilywhites since Riyad Mahrez in October 2018. 

However, City’s title dream could have gone up in smoke but for Ortega, who denied Heung-min Son with four minutes of the 90 remaining. 

The Tottenham captain bore down on goal after Manuel Akanji was dispossessed just inside the away side’s half, and the South Korean had only the 31-year-old to beat.

But the goalkeeper thwarted the hosts’ top scorer minutes before Haaland’s penalty ensured the points. 

Tuesday was the fourth time the German would replace Ederson in the 2023-24 season, with the Brazilian forced off with a seeming concussion in the game’s concluding 20 minutes. 

Ortega made three saves on the night, twice denying Dejan Kulusevski before preventing Son’s equaliser, thus taking him to 11 saves from 13 shots on target in Premier League matches in which he was introduced for Ederson. 

The German has replaced City’s No. 1 against Newcastle United, Liverpool, Nottingham Forest and Tottenham, conceding only to Alexander Isak and Anthony Gordon in the table-topping side’s win at St James’ Park in January. 

Of the 11 saves, the latest one to thwart Son possibly is Ortega’s favourite. 

Guardiola’s men return to Premier League action in gameweek 38’s match against West Ham United, keen to secure maximum points and claim an unprecedented fourth top-flight title.