The first half of Sunday’s match with Villarreal was a mix of extreme emotions for Barcelona fans. The “Yellow Submarine”, fueled by good results in the first rounds, boldly attacked Hansi Flick’s charges, but was forced to make up for lost ground in the 20th minute. Robert Lewandowski used a pass from Pablo Torre and opened the bag of goals.
Fifteen minutes later, the captain of the Polish national team added another goal, but the “Pride of Catalonia” did not enjoy their two-goal lead for long. Three minutes later, Ayoze Perez scored, and Villarreal players believed that they could beat the excellently prepared Marc-Andre ter Stegen that day. The German made several world-class interventions, which is why the images from the added time of the first half were all the more painful for the fans.
A blow to Barcelona just before the break. Ter Stegen suffers a horrific injury
After one of the crosses into the penalty area, the German landed unluckily and fell to the turf. The first reactions of the Barça players closest to the goalkeeper suggested that a serious injury had occurred. Gerard Martin and Inigo Martinez quickly signalled to the coaching staff that a change would be necessary. The Barcelona captain was lying on the turf, almost writhing in pain.
Raphinha, seeing the 32-year-old’s condition, clutched his head. Medical services quickly appeared around Ter Stegen, and the goalkeeper left the stadium on a stretcher. Unfortunately, everything indicates that he suffered a serious knee injury. This is a huge blow to the “Blaugrana”, which is already struggling with a real plague of injuries. The German was replaced between the posts by Inaki Pena.
Ter Stegen missed 19 games last season due to a back injury. The German has struggled with a number of serious injuries in the past, and has also had knee surgery. Fans will be eagerly awaiting news about the captain’s health. The prognosis is very pessimistic.
Marc-Andre ter Stegen leaves the pitch on a stretcher/Eric Alonso/Getty Images/Getty Images
Marc-Andre ter Stegen/Matthieu Mirville/Matthieu Mirville/DPPI via AFP/AFP
Marc-Andre ter Stegen’s unlucky save/Eric Alonso/Getty Images/Getty Images
