Ivan Rakitic was a close observer as Barcelona secured a 2-1 win over Newcastle United in their opening Champions League match this season.
While Marcus Rashford stole the limelight with his two goals, the other new signing who impressed on the night was Joan Garcia.
Playing his first Champions League match, the goalkeeper showed a lot of maturity and made a few key saves to deny Newcastle from scoring the second goal.
Speaking to COPE (h/t Mundo Deportivo), Rakitic admitted he was mightily impressed by Joan Garcia’s performance against Newcastle United.
“Incredible, incredible. That’s why they signed him. We need a goalkeeper who can come through in difficult times. We have him, and he’s very important,” he said.
Rakitic, who joined Barcelona in 2014 for just €18 million, played in over 300 matches for the Catalans, during which he largely shared the pitch with Marc-Andre ter Stegen.
Joan Garcia has repaid Barcelona’s faith. (Photo by Alex Caparros/Getty Images)
Interestingly, ter Stegen was at the centre of attention this summer, following Barcelona’s decision to replace him with Joan Garcia.
Now, it appears Rakitic himself, despite being a long-time teammate of ter Stegen, is impressed by the former Espanyol star’s performances at Barcelona.
Garcia’s performance against Newcastle United was the latest in a series of strong displays from the Spaniard, who will be eyeing his first international call-up with the Spanish national team next month.
It must be noted that Garcia has recorded a save percentage of 84% this season, which places him within the top three best-performing goalkeepers in La Liga.
The Spaniard, though, will be eyeing more clean sheets, having conceded at least a goal in three of five matches for Barcelona so far.
