Marc Andre ter Stegen of FC Barcelona, Ronald Araujo of FC Barcelona, Ricard Puig of FC Barcelona, Jordi Alba of FC Barcelona, Frenkie de Jong of FC Barcelona during the Spanish Super Cup match between Real Sociedad v FC Barcelona at the Nuevo Arcangel Stadium on January 13, 2021 in Cordoba Spain.
Ronald Koeman was proud of his Barcelona team and in particular goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen after seeing his men beat Real Sociedad on penalties in the semi-finals of the Spanish Super Cup on Wednesday.
A hard-fought game ended all square after extra-time. Frenkie de Jong headed Barca in front, but a Mikel Oyarzabal penalty levelled it up for La Rea.
Barca went on to win 3-2 in the shoot-out and Koeman praised his team’s performance and his goalkeeper’s heroics after the win.
“Ter Stegen played really fantastic. During the whole game he had some really important saves for the team and that’s really important.
“We are really happy and I’m proud of the team. It was an intense game tonight, 120 minutes, it’s not easy at this stage of the season. But we did well, we played well, maybe in the beginning we had some difficulties because they pressed really high.
“I think after 10-15 minutes we played well, we were the better team in the first half. It was a pity that they got a penalty, I don’t know if it was a penalty or not, both teams played to win the game and it was tough for everyone. Finally in penalties you need a bit of luck and you need a good goalkeeper as well. I think we had both.”
❝He played fantastic.❞
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) January 14, 2021
— @RonaldKoeman on @mterstegen1, after the Barça goalkeeper made six saves and stopped Real Sociedad's first three kicks in the penalty shootout win pic.twitter.com/NjvK1kDBW9
Ter Stegen also made two saves in the shoot-out, while substitute Riqui Puig netted the decisive kick to send Barcelona into a final against either Real Madrid or Athletic on Sunday.
