Some Barcelona fans claim Real Madrid's Champions League heroics wouldn't have happened if they had had Marc-Andre ter Stegen between the sticks.
Is the German goalie much worse than Thibaut Courtois this season? Let's compare their stats across all competitions.
Conceded goals
Courtois: 43 (53 expected).
Ter Stegen: 51 (48 expected).
Conceded goals per 90 mins
Courtois: 0.87.
Ter Stegen: 1.09.
Save percentage
Courtois: 78.1 per cent.
Ter Stegen: 70.3 per cent.
Clean sheet percentage
Courtois: 42.9 per cent.
Ter Stegen: 31.9 per cent.
Post-shot xG per shot on target
Higher numbers indicate that shots faced are more difficult to stop.
Courtois: 0.27.
Ter Stegen: 0.29.
Cross prevention
Courtois: 34 opposition crosses stopped out of 404 (8.4 per cent).
Ter Stegen: 21 opposition crosses stopped out of 276 (7.6 per cent).
Sweeper actions
Courtois: 0.56 actions outside the penalty area per 90 mins.
Ter Stegen: 0.45 actions outside the penalty area per 90 mins.
Passing completion (longer than 40 yards)
Courtois: 170 out of 484 (35.1 per cent).
Ter Stegen: 265 out of 459 (57.7 per cent).
Under-rated parametre
Thibaut Courtois has been consistent throughout the whole season, having mostly decent or outstanding performances.
While Marc-Andre ter Stegen is still capable of singlehandedly winning points for his side, he has also had a few horrible outings: like against Napoli, Elche or Celta Vigo.
Conclusion
Courtois has indeed had a much better season than Ter Stegen in terms of the main goalkeeping duties, even though the shots Marc-Andre faces are slightly more difficult to save.
The German still remains head and shoulders above the Belgian at passing accuracy – quite an important feature for every Barca goalkeeper.
Ter Stegen can shine brightly on a particular day, yet Courtois is much more consistent than the 30-year-old these days.
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