City dominated the first half against the Serbian side but found ourselves 1-0 down at half-time.
An Alvarez brace and a controlled Rodrigo finish eventually earned Pep Guardiola‘s side the three points with a 3-1 win.
Speaking as the guest on the latest episode of the Official Man City Podcast, Ortega Moreno explained what he said to our No.16 during the break.
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“I was sitting on the bench and we had a lot of shots on target. Every time we were in the box, we tried to shoot in the top corner. The goalkeeper was not so bad but he focused more on high balls,” he said.
“We have so many players with a lot of qualities so I spoke to Rodri and Julian [Alvarez] at half-time.
“Just have a look, you don’t have to score an amazing goal. Shoot on the ground because the pitch was wet, Champions League balls are so quick so I promised them that when you hit it on the side it will go in.”
The German goalkeeper has proved a more than able deputy to Ederson since arriving at the Etihad Stadium in the summer of 2022, excelling with both his hands and his feet.
Keepers are asked to be more than just shot stoppers at City, with the responsibility on them to start attacks from deep.
While this play has contributed to our incredible success in recent seasons, it also comes with significant risk for the goalkeepers in particular.
However, Ortega Moreno was quick to answer when asked if this style of play makes him nervous.
“Not really,” he said.
“I think this is why every guy says goalkeepers are a bit crazy. We are confident, it’s not arrogant but we believe in ourselves.
“This position means that if you do a mistake it’s a goal so to handle this, you have to have good confidence. If you start to think you’re nervous, that’s when mistakes happen.”
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