As Son Heung-min ran clear for Tottenham, the title was on the line. Pep Guardiola collapsed to the floor of his technical area seeing the South Korean, so often a thorn in our side, race away with the chance to snatch an equaliser.
But Ortega stood tall before thrusting out a right leg to divert the ball to safety and keep City on track for a crucial three points.
It was another big moment from the German goalkeeper who stepped up brilliantly went called upon throughout the season.
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Signed in the summer of 2023, Ortega was an important member of our Treble-winning campaign, particularly in the FA Cup when he played all-but 45 minutes and was beaten only just once, from a controversial penalty in the FA Cup final victory over Manchester United.
He quickly became embedded in the close-knit goalkeeping group with Ederson and Scott Carson under the guidance of Xabi Mancisidor and Richard Wright.
The Brazilian was outstanding too and was deservedly named the best goalkeeper in the world in December.
But it was to be a bruising 2023/24 season as he suffered a number of painful setbacks that forced him to be replaced on four occasions in the Premier League.
Ortega’s campaign began in disappointment as City were beaten by Newcastle in the Carabao Cup in the third round despite a number of fine saves.
He then helped City to a 2-1 victory over Brighton, with Ederson rested following an international break spent in South America, and the Champions League games with RB Leipzig and Red Star Belgrade as we finished the group stage with a 100% record.
It was after Christmas that Ortega was called upon more, with a combination of unfortunate injuries and our run to the FA Cup final.
In January, Ederson was replaced in the eighth minute of our win at Newcastle after being injured trying to stop Anthony Gordon, a setback that was extra frustrating as the referee’s assistant immediately raising his flag for offside.
The 3-2 win was full of outstanding goals, with wonderful finishes from Bernardo Silva, Kevin De Bruyne and Oscar Bobb and the Magpies contributed with impressive strikes from Alexander Isak and Gordon.
Leading 1-0 at Liverpool, Ederson was injured again after trying to deal with an underhit backpass and Ortega had to step into the Anfield cauldron with Jurgen Klopp’s side challenging for the title in his final months in charge.
Ortega was then took the gloves for our next three Premier League matches, starting with the visit of closest challengers Arsenal, keeping a clean sheet in a goalless draw.
That was followed by a 4-1 win against Aston Villa, who were challenging for a Champions League spot, and a 4-2 victory at Crystal Palace where Ortega’s performance was augmented by an outrageous ‘Cruyff turn’ under pressure.
In the Champions League, he played in the first leg against Real Madrid with the Spanish giants grabbing a 3-3 draw via Federico Valverde’s volley which was named the competition’s Goal of the Season.
Ederson was taken off at half-time of our 2-0 win at Nottingham Forest and was unbeaten against Tottenham until he was caught by a clumsy challenge from Cristian Romero after bravely coming for a close.
A fractured eye socket ruled the Brazilian out of our title-clincher with West Ham and the FA Cup final against Manchester United.
Before the final, Ortega conceded had twice – both in a 6-2 victory over Luton – keeping four clean sheets.
At Wembley, he lost in the competition for the first time in two years, but it was no surprise that days after the end of the season, he was rewarded with a new contract after an excellent campaign.
2023/24 Stats
Matches: 20
Starts: 16
Clean sheets: 5
Minutes: 1,622
In his own words
“What happened in these two years is incredible. I think I’m a completely different person now than two years ago and that means a lot for me.
“We’ve won a lot of trophies, the Treble last year. Since I’ve been here we just keep breaking records and records so it’s nice to be a part of this group.”
Pep on Ortega
“One on one he’s one of the best goalkeepers I’ve seen in my life. He’s so reliable. An incredible decision by our goalkeeping coach (Mancisidor) to bring him.
“Ortega saves the action, otherwise Arsenal are champions - that is the reality. The margins are so tight.”
