Marc-Andre ter Stegen sets new Barcelona record after 4-0 win over Real Betis
Marc-Andre ter Stegan has broken the record for most clean sheets in a La Liga season by a Barcelona goalkeeper after his team's 4-0 win on Saturday (April 29).
The German shot-stopper has 24 La Liga clean sheets, overtaking Claudio Bravo's tally of 23 in the 2014-15 season. Ter Stegen has not missed a single minute of league action this season, conceding just 11 times in 32 games.
Ter Stegen is now just two clean sheets away from Francisco Liano's record tally of 26 shutouts for Deportivo La Coruna in the 1993-94 campaign. With six games remaining this season, the Barcelona goalkeeper has every chance of making that record his own.
Barcelona are also on course to break the record for the fewest goals conceded in a La Liga campaign. The record for a 38-game season stands at 18 goals and is currently held by Deportivo La Coruna (1993-94) and Atletico Madrid (2015-16).
Ter Stegen barely had any work to do against Real Betis, making just a solitary save as Barcelona cruised to a comfortable home win. He has, however, been decisive whenever he has been called into action.
As per FBRef, the 30-year-old leads the list of goalkeepers with the best save percentage in the Spanish first division this season. He's on course to win his fifth league title with the Blaugrana, as his team hold an 11-point lead atop the standings.
Barcelona star pleased with Real Betis win after recent slump
Barcelona came into the La Liga clash against Real Betis on the back of just one win in their last five games across competitions.
Their 2-1 league loss against Rayo Vallecano on April 26 was perhaps one of their worst displays of the season. Defender Andreas Christensen, who returned to Barca's starting XI for the first time since the March international break, was pleased with his team's 4-0 win against Los Verdiblancos.
The 27-year-old Danish centre-back said (via @BarcaUniversal):
"It's good to play with a great performance again, after a few matches that were below par. The rhythm is good and the level was high."
Christensen opened the scoring for his team with a header in the 14th minute. Edgar Gonzalez's red card just after the half-hour mark made Barca's job easy as the hosts scored two more goals before the first-half whistle.
Christensen was withdrawn, perhaps as a precaution, 15 minutes into the second half. Apart from his goal, the former Chelsea centre-back recorded eight recoveries and a 98% pass completion rate from his 47 attempted passes.