“I know what it’s like” - Valencia star lifts lid on how he confronted Barcelona's Ter Stegen after forgetful error in La Liga clash
Valencia striker Hugo Duro reached out to Barcelona goalkeeper Marc Andre Ter Stegen after he committed a major error when Barcelona and Valencia clashed in La Liga on Monday night (April 29).
Although the Catalan club won the match 4-2 after making a comeback in the second half, they were 2-1 down at the end of the first half at Monjuic. The first goal came after Ter Stegen made a major blunder in the match, leading to Hugo Duro scoring the first goal of the night for Valencia.
At the press conference after the match, Hugo Duro revealed that he approached the German goalkeeper to shake his hand after his error. He called Ter Stegen 'a very humble guy', explaining that he understands how Stegen may have felt.
"After Ter Stegen's mistake, I approached him to shake his hand. He hadn’t made such a mistake in a long time, and he’s just a very humble guy. I know what it’s like; I had a year when nothing went right," Hugo Duro said (via Get Spanish Football News).
After Fermin Lopez scored for Barcelona, the team looked in control of the proceedings, having taken an early lead. Minutes later, when Duro chased the ball towards the goal, Ter Stegen came forward to reach the ball first.
However, he attempted a delicate chip over Duro's head instead of taking the safe option, which backfired on the Blaugrana. Duro found himself in the perfect place to score as the ball rolled into Barca's empty net, leveling the scores at 1-1.
Barcelona made a major comeback in the second half as Robert Lewandowski scored a hattrick
Despite going 2-1 down at half-time, Barcelona made an incredible comeback in the second half, with Polish striker Robert Lewandowski scoring a hat-trick against Valencia.
After conceding a goal due to Ter Stegen's unfortunate mistake in the 27th minute, the Catalan club conceded one more goal after Valencia's Pepelu converted a penalty in the 38th minute. The penalty was granted after defender Ronald Araujo made a tackle on Peter Gonzalez.
Valencia were down to ten men right before the half-time whistle, as goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili was shown a red card for a handball. In the second half, Robert Lewandowski scored two headers for the Blaugrana, giving the club the lead once again.
The Polish striker scored his third goal of the night and completed the hat-trick via a free kick. He also became the first Barcelona striker to score two headers in the La Liga after Samuel Eto'o in 2005.
Lewandowski has scored 16 goals in 30 matches for the Blaugrana in La Liga this season.