Stefan Ortega’s “catastrophic” performance against Brighton & Hove Albion on Saturday will undoubtedly have Pep Guardiola requesting some additional funding at the end of the season, as if Manchester City’s summer shopping list wasn’t already lengthy enough. The Citizens were prevented from making it into the Premier League’s top four by a 2-2 draw at the Etihad Stadium.
As the season draws to a close, it’s becoming more and more obvious that the four-time champions need a roster revamp, even though the Seagulls rallied twice to earn the draw. City’s sole chance to win a trophy is through the FA Cup after losing to Real Madrid in a playoff match and being ousted by Tottenham in the fourth round of the League Cup.
January saw the sowing of some of the seeds for a period of transition, with the entrance of Abdoukodir Khusanov and Omar Marmoush seemingly stabilising the ship to some extent. However, it appears that City will also be searching for a new custodian in the summer, given Ederson’s penchant for oddities and Ortega’s recent gaffe.
Stefan Ortega’s Performance During 2-2 Draw With Brighton
The German’s efforts to stop Estupinan’s free-kick were comical
Ortega’s status as one of the best backup goalkeepers in world football was widely accepted at the beginning of the season. Ederson’s daring style of play resulted in too many expensive errors for Guardiola to tolerate, but the risk paid off as he went on to become the custodian with the most assists in Premier League history, and soon after, he was given the number one shirt.
But all of a sudden, his future seemed uncertain. He let up two goals and faced three shots on goal against Brighton. However, his indolent attempt—or lack thereof—to prevent Pervis Estupinan’s free-kick from going into the net perfectly encapsulated his performance. See the objective below:
1-1 Brighton.
SENSATIONAL FREEKICK BY ESTUPINAN! pic.twitter.com/Q5PYWFdob6
— The Touchline | Football Coverage (@TouchlineX) March 15, 2025
The German also had a Sofascore rating of only 6.5, completed only 69% of his pass attempts, and stopped -1.36 goals. His performance demonstrated his inability to satisfy the manager’s demands for a custodian who can contribute to the buildup play without trying too hard to be the hero all the time like Ederson, in addition to making saves and maintaining composure.
Ortega Shown Exit Door as Pressure Grows
The Man City supporters have made their feelings known about their goalkeeper unit
Following yet another disappointing tie, Man City supporters expressed their opinions on their goalkeepers on social media, which was rife with criticism. “Every time Ortega isn’t playing, people clamour for him to play like he’s some big upgrade on Ederson and every time he is playing he’s catastrophic,” a user wrote on X. Another was added:
“Ederson and Ortega are definitely in constant competition with each other on who is the worst keeper.”
Ederson and Ortega are definitely in constant competition with each other on who is the worst goalkeeper
— BH (@MCFC___BH) March 15, 2025
In just one year, Ortega moved from competing with Ederson for GK1 to becoming a must-sell, according to a third statement. He’s been awful,” one person said, and another said, “Saudi is calling.” A fifth came to the conclusion that Ortega must be sold. He didn’t respond. He merely observed the ball enter the net.
Manchester City will be putting in their best effort to avoid having their season end in total disappointment when they play Bournemouth in the FA Cup quarterfinal on March 30.
