‘Incredible decision’ to sign keeper Stefan Ortega paying off for Man City

Stefan Ortega has only played 524 minutes in the Premier League this season but is being hailed as the man who sealed the title for Manchester City.

The German goalkeeper came on as a substitute for the injured Ederson during the second half of City’s crunch game in hand at Tottenham on Tuesday.

And he kept his side’s lead intact as he made a raft of impressive saves, particularly when he denied Son Heung-min one-on-one in the 86th minute.

Erling Haaland then converted a late penalty, having earlier opened the scoring, to put City on the brink of a fourth consecutive Premier League title. A win against West Ham on Sunday would see their domination of English football continue for a record-breaking period.

The majority of Ortega’s time at City has been spent on the bench as an understudy to Ederson.

The 31-year-old arrived at the Etihad Stadium in the summer of 2022 after a modest career in his native Germany, which was mainly spent playing in the 2 Bundesliga.

Having come through the ranks at Arminia Bielefeld, he then spent four years at 1860 Munich before returning to his boyhood club.

And he was the figurehead of a revival which saw Arminia return to the Bundesliga for the first time in 11 years in the Covid-hit 2019-20 season.

Ortega missed only one game of Arminia’s two seasons back in Germany’s top flight but could not help them avoid relegation in 2021-22.

But instead of heading back into the second tier, he found himself at one of the most successful clubs in the world as he joined City on a free transfer.

His debut came in a Champions League draw with Borussia Dortmund but he has only been used as first-choice stopper in domestic cup competitions and when Ederson has been injured.

His heroic performance at Spurs was his 32nd appearance for Pep Guardiola’s side and he has only been on the losing side twice – in Carabao Cup defeats against Southampton and Newcastle.

As most deputy goalkeepers are, he is known as a good team man and would probably be the number-one choice at most other Premier League clubs.

And Guardiola has never been worried about having to use the German.

“In the one against one, he is one of the best keepers I have ever seen in my life. Stand up, don’t go down and he is so, so, good,” the Spaniard said.

“Playing FA Cup, Carabao Cup, even this season Ederson had four times setbacks for injuries and always he was so reliable.

“He is an incredible keeper so the club and our trainer made an incredible decision to bring him here.”