Marc-Andre ter Stegen to Gladbach's rescue
Munich - Borussia Mönchengladbach left the Allianz Arena on Friday night with a hard-fought point largely thanks to the heroics of goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen.
"Fantastic saves"
Gladbach's hero of the hour made no less than 26 saves on the night, dealt with 14 corners and saw off 33 balls into the box. "I had a lot to do, but as a team we were superb," said ter Stegen as the press swarmed to get a word with the game's standout performer.
"You can see from the fact that ter Stegen was the best player on the pitch that we had a host of chances," explained FC Bayern coach Jupp Heynckes. "Monchengladbach did not have a single, clear scoring opportunity. We had at least six, but ter Stegen made some unbelievable saves."
Come full-time, the 20-year-old had incredibly had more touches of the ball than any of his team-mates (26), with the sort of goalkeeping masterclass that had some drawing comparisons with German great Oliver Kahn. Heavy praise indeed for a young shot-stopper, who only made his Bundesliga debut 20 months ago for a Gladbach side in the midst of a relegation quagmire.
"Amazing"
For Foals coach Lucien Favre, though, ter Stegen's awe-inspiring performance was nothing new. "I know Marc and he is a superb keeper. He has great potential and is still very young. He was amazing. He made two or three fantastic saves."
Two stops in particular will live long in the memory of the opposing camps, albeit for very different reasons. Bayern were relentless, but ter Stegen was in defiant mood, flying to his right to deny Franck Ribery and diving full-stretch to foil Bastian Schweinsteiger’s low drive that looked every bit the winning goal.
"He saved us"
"It doesn't matter to me which save was the best," declared the Gladbach No1. "What's important is that we got something from the game. The fact I was able to contribute makes it all the better."
To say ter Stegen contributed heavily to a point gained for the Foals would be a massive understatement. The replays, the statistics and the all-round praise tell you everything you need to know about the young keeper’s performance. Indeed, defender Tony Jantschke's assertion that "he saved us today" does the Gladbach guardian far greater justice.
Christopher Mayer-Lodge reporting from Munich
