Pep Guardiola insisted he was not surprised by Stefan Ortega's heroics for Manchester City against Chelsea, thanking the club for facilitating his signing.
Ortega joined on a free transfer in the summer to provide back-up to Ederson in goal, but has had to wait patiently for his chances in goal. He made his debut in the Champions League draw at Dortmund, played well in the final group game vs Sevilla, but really showed City fans what he was capable of with a string of brilliant saves against Chelsea.
In the first half, he kept out a close-range deflected effort, denied youngster Lewis Hall one-on-one, and pushed out a speculative Christian Pulisic effort. After City went 2-0 ahead, Ortega produced another big save to keep City in control, and later tipped the ball around the post to deny another certain goal.
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And after the game, Guardiola hailed his goalkeeper, saying Ortega has been an 'exceptional' addition to City's squad this season.
"It’s not the first game, the game in Dortmund was exceptional. The game against Sevilla was exceptional," Guardiola said.
"We saw him every day and I think the club made a great signing with him. He’s an exceptional goalkeeper in all departments, in the goal, with the feet, and in the end Chelsea didn’t score a goal because he saved it.
"It’s good for Eddy too. To maintain the levels is so important. Stefan is an exceptional keeper."
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