Ter Stegen Delivers Drama on Girona Debut: Late Save, Last-Minute Equalizer
26 January 2026
A gripping duel right to the final whistle!
The German goalkeeper Marc-André Ter Stegen put in a sharp showing in his first appearance for Girona, helping the Catalans secure a valuable point in a dramatic La Liga clash with Getafe.
Getafe took the lead through Luis Vázquez in the 60th minute, before Girona equalized in stoppage time at 90+5 via Víctor Ruiz.
Ter Stegen had been with Girona for only 96 hours since his Thursday loan move from Barcelona.
He started in goal at Montilivi in place of the Argentine Gazzaniga.
All eyes were on the goalkeeper as he wore the number 22 shirt, with Girona fans serenading him over loudspeakers and applauding as he took his place between the posts.
Skill that never dies
The German keeper's first intervention came in the fifth minute, as he used both feet—an art that once drew Andoni Zubizarreta to Barcelona—and it seemed age and injuries had not dulled it, giving his teammates confidence to build from the back, echoing Mitchell Sánchez's approach, according to Sport.
The trickiest moment of the first half came when Jose Bordalás's side pressed forward and a defensive mix nearly yielded a goal; Ter Stegen couldn't reach the ball after the scramble, with Alex Moreno almost turning it into an own goal.
A surprising goal.. and the defining moment
In the 60th minute Getafe struck through Luis Vázquez from close range after a well-worked move, and the German keeper did well to get a hand to it, but the ball found the net.
Girona continued to threaten, pinning Getafe back, until a stoppage-time breakthrough: a dramatic equalizer by Luis Vázquez made it 1-1.
Then came the defining moment in the 97th minute when Ter Stegen produced a real, decisive intervention, stopping a shot from inside the six-yard box with his feet to preserve the draw for Girona.
On a separate note, Moroccan star Azzedine Onahi watched from the stands, having suffered a muscle tear earlier in January with the Atlas Lions in the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations, a six-week layoff ahead.
Girona's point tally rose to 25 points in 10th, three points behind Getafe in 17th.
