Back in early April, against Liverpool, the FA Cup semi-final proved to be an off-day for a lot of Manchester City players, including the goalkeeper Zack Steffen.
After a gruelling but ultimately successful Champions League quarter-final bout with Atletico Madrid, Pep Guardiola's side — fresh from suffering 71 different injuries in that midweek tussle, according to the boss — had to dust themselves down and go again at Wembley Stadium. Standing in their way this time was arguably one of Europe's best teams, coached by one of the best managers.
It was always going to be a tough assignment and Liverpool's freshness was on full display in the first 30 minutes. Their dogged pressing led to multiple errors and the Reds got a strangle-hold of the game before City could even catch their breath.
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Ibrahima Konaté scored from a corner and Sadio Mané slotted in nicely with his left-foot, but it was the second Liverpool goal that grabbed all the headlines. Steffen, trying to keep possession, dawdled on the ball for too long on his own goal-line and allowed Mané to slide in and deflect the ball into the goal.
The US international was usually so reliable with his feet, but the occasion had clearly got to him, and despite City's best efforts, it was the goal that put the contest just out of reach.
Steffen never really recovered from that day and has since gone on a season-long-loan to Championship side, Middlesbrough. The idea is for him to get valuable minutes before his country's adventures in the Qatar World Cup, but City's newest signing means a return looks highly unlikely.
The man in question is Stefan Ortega, who the Blues secured on a free transfer just a month ago. He arrives at the Etihad Stadium with plenty of goal-saving pedigree, but an unknown quantity to some extent with ball at his feet.
He got his first taste of action versus Club América in pre-season and will be hungry to earn more and more opportunities as the year progresses. Guardiola has always opted to us the back-up keeper in the domestic cup competitions, so it is likely he'll feature from the start against Liverpool on Saturday.
The Community Shield is the a good way for the team to get back into the swing of things before the Premier League kicks-off, but City will also desperately want to win and avoid handing Jurgen Klopp's side any early-season momentum. City have always found it harder playing out from the back against the high intensity, heavy metal football of Liverpool and the addition of Darwin Nunez will add a new dimension to Klopp's attack.
Ortega looked comfortable against Club América, but it is a totally different scenario when the likes of Mohammed Salah and Luis Diaz are charging you down — it's essentially his ultimate goalkeeping test.
The German obviously has plenty of time to develop and learn how Guardiola wants him to play, but facing Liverpool will definitely provide an honest assessment as to where his current level is at, and the role he'll play this season.
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