Joan García shines in his first Champions League match with 5 saves!
Published New:19/09/2025 - 02:03h
Updated New:19/09/2025 - 02:03h
Joan García had a remarkable debut in the Champions League with Barça. The Catalan goalkeeper, although he didn't keep a clean sheet, made 5 key saves against Newcastle (1-2) that maintained the lead for the 'Culés'.
FC Barcelona took 3 golden points from Newcastle (1-2) thanks to Marcus Rashford's double and Joan García's timely interventions. In his European debut, the '13' completed another outstanding performance, with 5 saves that allowed the 'Azulgrana' team to hold the clean sheet for 89 minutes.
Only in the 90th minute, Anthony Gordon was able to break the resistance of the Catalan goalkeeper, with a good first-time shot that surprised the player from Sallent. Luckily, Barça had the game in the bag for a while, although in the first half Hansi Flick's team suffered more than expected.
Joan García continues to respond with key saves in Barcelona
And the fact is that, if Barça didn't go into halftime losing, it was undoubtedly thanks to Joan García's gloves. In the 24th minute, the Spanish goalkeeper made an authentic save against Barnes, who arrived free on the left to finish off a cross from Elanga.
The action seemed like a clear goal, but Joan covered the entire goal with his humanity and firmly put his hands to deflect the shot from the English '11'. Already in the second half, still with the score at 0-0, Sandro Tonali tested the reflexes of the '13' with a shot from the edge of the area, but the Catalan goalkeeper blocked without problems.
The Italian tried again in added time, in the last play of the match, but García pocketed the ball without giving a rebound. Previously, Bruno Guimaraes had also demanded the goalkeeper with a powerful shot contained in two stages, always safely so as not to give a long rebound.
Joan was impeccable in the cuts, both low and high, recovering a total of 16 balls. In addition, he looked very confident with his feet despite the high pressure that the 'Magpies' were trying. In total, he completed 21 of 29 passes.
Joan García's records against Newcastle
- Minutes played: 90
- Goals: -1
- Goals prevented: 1.30
- Saves: 5
- Opportunities created: 1
- Passes completed: 21 of 29 (72%)
- Accurate long shots: 9 of 17 (53%)
- Duels won: 2 of 8 (25%)
- Balls recovered: 16
- Launches: 9
Joan García, excited after his debut in Europe
At the end of the match, Joan García shared his impressions of Barcelona's victory and his official debut as a starter in the Champions League. The '13' did not hide his excitement for the premiere in an unbeatable setting, in addition to admitting how complex it is to play in a stadium like St. James' Park.
"We knew that the first minutes would be important. They push very hard. They had that chance (Barnes's) that, luckily, I was able to get out. We have been settling down and in the end we have been able to win," he said in his chat with 'Movistar+'.
Similarly, the goalkeeper valued his adaptation to the club and the confidence given to him by the coaching staff and his teammates. "I don't participate so much in saves or goal but with my foot I have to be much more attentive. I am feeling very comfortable. For the moment everything is going well and I continue working so that everything goes better," Joan pointed out.
🤯😂 Joan García's reaction to Rashford's great goal: "It was incredible" #LaCasaDelFútbol #UCL pic.twitter.com/SdVuENxFyQ
— Fútbol en Movistar Plus+ (@MovistarFutbol) September 18, 2025
For his part, Hansi Flick, in the post-match press conference, also praised the goalkeeper's performance and contribution from the goal. "I am very happy with him. He saves us from some situations and is another player with possession of the ball, calm, making the correct pass... It's fantastic to have him," said the coach.
