Barcelona’s Marc-Andre Ter Stegen Takes Blame For 4-3 Loss To Celta Vigo

Barcelona goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen has apologized after his blunder helped Celta Vigo finish with a 4-3 home victory over the Catalan club in La Liga on Sunday.

Barcelona’s Marc-Andre Ter Stegen Takes Blame For 4-3 Loss To Celta Vigo

According to Sport magazine, ter Stegen said: “It’s my fault, I’m really sorry. If I hadn’t made the mistake we could have won this game.”

Barca had scored two goals after a catastrophic first half in which they allowed three, although the 24-year-old German goalie conceded a fourth in the 76th minute to stop his team’s comeback when his attempted clearance bounced off Celta striker Pablo Hernandez and into the net.

Spanish soccer expert Sergi Dominguez noted how costly that error ended up being for the visitors, while Bleacher Report UK’s Graham Ruthven didn’t seem surprised by it.

However, ter Stegen has promised to continue playing the ball out from the back, adding: “Even though this has happened, I’m not going to change. It’s just happened once.”

The Guardian’s Sid Lowe also heavily criticized the gaffe, and urged the keeper to improve his decision-making:

Barcelona manager Luis Enrique had warned his team that Celta Vigo would be a tough opponent.

“If anyone can hurt us, it is Celta,” Enrique stated, and he was correct. Down one goal after 21 minutes, down two after 31 minutes and down three after 32, trailing 3-0 at halftime, Barcelona began making changes. Andrés Iniesta and Gerard Piqué both came on, and the Catalans made it 3-1 after 57 minutes and 3-2 after 63. At that point, Iago Aspas, who scored Vigo’s second, confessed that his team was “running low on petrol” and began to fear the worst.

After ter Stegen’s error, Pique scored his second in the 86th to make it 4-3, although by then it was already too little, too late.

Barcelona have now fallen to fourth in the La Liga standings with 13 points, behind Sevilla (14), Real Madrid (15), and leader Atletico Madrid (15).

Enrique refused to even discuss his goalie’s embarrassing mistake.

“The first goal came from us losing it, the second came from us losing it a long way from goal, the third was an own goal, and the fourth I don’t even want to talk about,” Enrique said following the game.

Ter Stegen’s loose pass to Sergio Busquets and his sluggish reaction also helped Sisto Pione score the opening goal.

Barcelona will next host Deportivo La Coruña on Oct. 15 in a La Liga matchup, while Vigo will visit Villareal on Oct. 16.

BARCELONA, SPAIN – SEPTEMBER 13: Marc-Andre ter Stegen of FC Barcelona in action during the UEFA Champions League Group C match between FC Barcelona and Celtic FC at Camp Nou on September 13, 2016 in Barcelona, . (Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images)