Nigeria-Eligible goalkeeper Noah Atubolu made a big impact in the German Bundesliga as Freiburg’s registered an emphatic 5-0 victory over Werder Bremen.
The SC Freiburg goalkeeper reinforced his reputation as a penalty specialist, setting a new Bundesliga record with his fourth consecutive penalty save.
Freiburg’s number one had already stopped spot-kicks from Bayer Leverkusen’s Florian Wirtz and Union Berlin duo Josip Juranovic and Kevin Volland last season. On Friday, he added another to his collection, denying André Silva from 12 yards after a VAR intervention penalised Kiliann Sildillia for handball.
Read Also: Wounded Nigerian competitors at Invictus Games shine in Canada, win Gold, other medals
Silva struck his penalty with power towards the right corner, but Atubolu guessed correctly, diving sharply to palm the effort away. The 22-year-old was delighted with the save, telling DAZN as per Kicker:
Atubolu now joins an exclusive group of Bundesliga goalkeepers, including Jörg Butt, Frank Rost, Thomas Zander, and Bernd Leno, as the only players to have saved four consecutive penalties in the league.
However, when pressed about his secret to stopping penalties, Atubolu remained tight-lipped.
“I spend a lot of time studying penalties and preparing for every situation. Of course, I have my tricks, but I won’t reveal them,” he said with a grin.