John Stones lauded Stefan Ortega after Manchester City took home a 1-1 draw against Liverpool at Anfield.
All eyes were on how Ortega would fare after Ederson had to be substituted after sustaining an injury on Sunday.
However, the Manchester City number two did not disappoint in the slightest, keeping the visitors in the game against Jurgen Klopp’s side, who were dominating proceedings in the second half.
John Stones hails “incredible” Stefan Ortega after Manchester City share the spoils with Liverpool
Notably, the £55,000-a-week (Sport Rac) man made a brilliant save to keep Liverpool striker Darwin Nunez’s attempt from rippling the net, as he made himself big and ensured the tap-in was saved.
Later on, the German made another huge stop from an attempt outside the box to parry the ball into safety.
As Stefan Ortega impressed in a Manchester City shirt once again during their draw against Liverpool, John Stones sang his praises.
“Incredible ‘keeper. Not easy at all to come in at this stage and how he played, the saves that he pulled off, such intelligent saves”, he told the club’s in-house media.
“A big shoutout to Stefan [Ortega] for coming off the bench at such a difficult place and being ready, which everyone always is.”
Stefan Ortega deserves all the praise in the world
As Manchester City defender John Stones rightly stated, coming off the bench as a goalkeeper to face an in-form Liverpool side at Anfield is anything but easy but Stefan Ortega rose to the occasion.
It would have been fair if Ortega would have potentially erred in between the sticks, considering the only other time he has played in a game as key as the one against the Reds was the FA Cup final against Manchester United last season.
Instead, the 31-year-old kept his composure, trusted his ability and produced a heroic display to keep City’s hopes alive in the Premier League title race.
Much like how Caoimhín Kelleher has showcased why he is an able understudy to Alisson Becker in recent weeks, the same can be said about Stefan Ortega, whose showing ensured Ederson’s absence was not felt during the showdown.
