Joan Garcia was called into action once again as Barcelona secured a narrow 1-0 win over Rayo Vallecano on Sunday afternoon.
However, the goalkeeper did not have a whole lot to do; he was active and alert whenever the situation needed him to be, making four stops. He notably made a crucial save in the second half to preserve his clean sheet.
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Joan Garcia surpasses last season tally
Thanks to Garcia’s performance against Rayo Vallecano, the Spaniard has now surpassed his tally from last season at Espanyol, as pointed out by Mundo Deportivo.
This is based on the ratio between actual goals conceded and the expected goals (xG) based on shot quality.
While Garcia finished last season with Espanyol, preventing 7.49 goals, he has already prevented a staggering 9.47 expected goals with Barcelona.
Garcia has been central to Barcelona’s title defence this season. (Photo by Eric Alonso/Getty Images)
Garcia’s saves have also been more clinical this season. Although he has recorded only 63 total saves, which is less than half of the 145 saves he made last year, he has proven to be significantly more decisive for Hansi Flick’s side.
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His performance against Rayo, for example, featured four impressive saves that brought his total of high-difficulty stops in La Liga to 22 for the season.
This stellar form has earned Garcia his first call-up to the Spanish national team, where he has the clear edge over his peers.
To put his 9.47 goals prevented into perspective, fellow international Unai Simon has only prevented 0.5 goals for Athletic Bilbao this term.
Meanwhile, other top-tier options like David Raya and Alex Remiro currently hold negative records in this department.
With twelve clean sheets in just 23 La Liga matches, Joan Garcia is indeed proving to be the backbone of Barcelona’s title defence.
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