With a man-of-the-match showing against Chelsea last week, Stefan Ortega Moreno is already demonstrating his value for the club. Whilst Ederson’s number-one status remains untouchable for the time being, City have not always had strong back-up options to push their Brazilian goalkeeper for his spot in the team.
Zack Steffen and Claudio Bravo are the two most recent occupants, and even going back further to the likes of Willy Caballero, there has always been a significant step down in quality when Ederson is rested or unavailable.
With Ortega however, City have acquired a competent and confident shot-stopper who has an eye for a pass and excellent anticipation to put himself in the best position to make saves at all times.
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The German had looked solid, if unspectacular in his two starts so far, but he proved his worth and then some against Graham Potter’s side. City dominated the opening stages, but it was Ortega who ensured that the two sides went in at half-time goalless.
He made two point-blank stops, first from a deflected Christian Pulisic effort and then again from Lewis Hall. He was also quickly across his goal to tip a curling effort from Pulisic around the post.
City snatched two quick goals at the start of the second half, before sitting back and inviting pressure from their opponents. Chelsea were able to exploit the inexperience of Sergio Gomez and Rico Lewis at times to create chances, but Ortega was equal to them all.
His anticipation was on show again when Hakim Ziyech drilled a pass across the 6-yard line to Lewis Hall, moving quickly across and diving to his right before the ball was even struck to give himself just enough time to tip the ball around the post. Even for the late disallowed goal for Chelsea, after spilling the ball he made a fantastic double-save from close range, and it was only a deflection off Nathan Ake’s legs from the second save that eventually saw the ball end up in the net.
Many City fans will have been unsure of what to make of the signing of Ortega, plying his trade in the Bundesliga for perennial relegation strugglers Arminia Bielefeld, but anyone keeping a close eye on German football knew what a great deal this was to secure his services on a free transfer.
Ortega has been one of the best keepers in German football for the past few seasons. Despite playing for a side that was relegated last season, his team conceded fewer goals than all but two sides in the bottom half, and with some more effective attackers they could have been comfortably mid-table.
He is also one of the only goalkeepers which Erling Haaland has faced and not scored past, something which he is more than happy to remind people of. He had the highest save percentage in the entire league in 2021/22, with 73.9%, and expected goals figures suggest that when Ortega was in goal for Bielefeld he conceded 5 goals less than the average goalkeeper. This was the second-best record in the division and without his contribution Bielefeld would undoubtedly have been even further off the pace than they already were.
It is apparent that Ortega is a top-quality goalkeeper, but it is his ability to pass the ball that will determine his usefulness for Pep Guardiola, as City’s ability to play out from the back revolves around the goalkeeper being able to make difficult line-breaking passes when all other options are unavailable.
The German impressed on that front as well last night, looking composed under pressure and playing smart, fizzed passes through the Chelsea press and into the feet of the City midfielders. He also played some nice, clipped passes out to Gomez and Lewis at full-back and generally helped to relieve the pressure on the City goal in the second half.
Ortega’s numbers from his time in Germany suggest this was no fluke. He had more touches per game than 99% of goalkeepers across Europe’s top 5 leagues, completed more long passes than 99% of goalkeepers and had a better pass completion rate than 97% of other keepers across Europe’s top leagues. These already fantastic numbers become even more impressive in the context of playing for one of the weakest sides across these five leagues.
It is clear to see why City targeted him this summer, especially after the previous number two Zack Steffen failed to impress during his two years at the club; his ability on the ball in particular causing large problems for the team when he was on the pitch.
From the evidence of last night, City fans can be extremely confident whenever they see Stefan Ortega coming into the lineup in place of Ederson. If the German can continue to develop his passing range, he can absolutely push the Brazilian all the way for a starting spot, which can only be a good thing for both players and the team as a whole.
Speaking at his unveiling he said “I will push Ederson and show my best performance and reach a new level. Now I’m good, but it’s not the limit.”, and if he does indeed continue to improve, last night’s display shows that he could well give Guardiola a selection headache as he is already a quality option between the sticks.
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