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Barcelona Fans at Each Other’s Throats After Ter Stegen’s Howler Costs the Team
Barcelona faced a humbling defeat to Monaco in the Champions League, and it was easy to spot the scapegoat – goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen.
The Blaugrana star turned villain in the closing stages of the game after giving away a crucial gift to Monaco’s George Ilenikhena, whose strike sealed the win.
Barcelona were already one man down, thanks to Eric Garcia’s sending-off, but ter Stegen’s howler was all it took to spark criticism from the fans.
"Terror Stegen, who is this man?" someone asked, as another called him "the worst keeper in the world."
Needless to say, none of the above comments sounded very positive.
It isn’t hard to see why – ter Stegen did have a torrid day. His distribution was wonky, and his passing accuracy left a lot to be desired. It also didn’t help that Barcelona struggled to create clear chances in the game.
Some fans took it a notch higher, blaming ter Stegen for the team’s woes.
"How many decades will we be stuck in mediocrity because we can’t even find an average keeper?" another disappointed fan wrote.
But how did it come to this? ter Stegen had a phenomenal campaign last term, keeping 18 clean sheets in La Liga, including several shutouts on the trot. He wasn’t expected to replicate this form in the Champions League, but few expected the German ‘keeper to plummet to such depths.
Regardless, the stats are bleak – ter Stegen gave away a goal, miscontrolled the ball, or was caught off guard enough times to hand Monaco easy counter-attacks. Ilenikhena’s second goal was no exception; the German goalkeeper got there too late, allowing Monaco’s star to slide a finish past him.
On Sunday, Barcelona face the stern test of Villarreal in La Liga – their first away game following a six-match winning run in the league. Their performance against Monaco serves as a wake-up call and a reminder that they may need to dig deeper – or at least, tighten up at the back, to continue their title streak.
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