[인터풋볼] Reporter Dong-Hoon Shin = Jack Stefan proved his competitiveness in the opportunity he had been holding for a long time.
Manchester City defeated Burnley 2-0 in the 8th round of the English Premier League (EPL) for the 2021-22 season held at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester, England on the 16th at 11 pm (Korean time). With this win, Manchester City went undefeated in 7 league games (5 wins, 2 draws) and reached 17 points and placed third in the standings.
Manchester City were particularly strong against Burnley. In the last 4 matches played at home, they had an overwhelming advantage to the point of winning 5-0. There was a lot of opinion that Man City would win unless there was a big surprise. However, Manchester City also had concerns. That’s the goalkeeper gap. Ederson was called up to the Brazilian national team and went to South America, so he could not come out due to self-quarantine issues.
In addition to his role as a goalkeeper, Ederson plays a large role for Manchester City. By far the best build-up among goalkeepers, he has played a decisive role when Manchester City unleash passes from behind. If Ederson is missing, there are Stefan and Scott Carson as substitutes, but Stefan has very little experience and is insecure, and Carson has doubts about his skills to trust.
Coach Pep Guardiola chose Stefan. After appearing in the EPL for the first time in nine months since January 2021, Stefan made several great saves. In the 21st minute of the first half, Maxwell Corne made a save in a one-on-one situation. Afterwards, Brown Hill and Chris Wood threatened one after another, but Stefan did not allow any goals. Despite Stefan’s struggle, Manchester City kept the scoreless and won 2-0 thanks to goals from Bernardo Silva and Kevin De Bruyne.
England’s ‘Manchester Evening News’ gave a rating of 7, saying, “Stefan made a great save even though it was his first EPL game this season.” British ’90min’ praised Stefan, saying, “He filled the void in Ederson easily.”
Guardiola said at a press conference after the match: “In the meantime, Stefan has grown remarkably with great goalkeeper coaches. Growing well as a goalkeeper, he has improved his capabilities than when he joined. Confidence also increased. It was revealed in the pre-emption scene. I was very satisfied with the good performance against Burnley.”
