Historic Derby Heroics: Garcia's Six-Save Clean Sheet Sparks Barca's La Liga Lead
3 January 2026
Derby highlights and Garcia's record
A historic achievement, first in three years.
Juan Garcia, Barcelona's goalkeeper, led his team to a 2-0 derby win over Espanyol in La Liga matchday 18.
According to Opta, Garcia is the first Barcelona keeper to make six saves in a La Liga game without conceding since Marc-Andre ter Stegen against Real Sociedad in November 2023.
Garcia earned the Man of the Match award after delivering a stellar performance against his former club, despite Espanyol fans' taunts.
Barça moved to 49 points, extending their lead atop the table, seven points ahead of Real Madrid, who host Real Betis on Sunday evening.
Espanyol remain on 33 points in fifth place.
Punchline: If football were a test, Garcia just aced it with a clean sheet—though the teacher might say, "nice try, Espanyol."
Punchline 2: Barca's defense is so tight, even their shadows stay offside.
