Olatz Santana, the back-up goalkeeper who stunned Madrid, says she is in shock | OneFootball

Olatz Santana stepped off the bench and delivered a superb display as Athletic claimed a historic first three points at Real Madrid’s Di Stéfano. The Hernani-born goalkeeper later said she felt in shock after the win.

She replaced Adriana Nanclares after six minutes following a head injury and, despite being 28 with only limited top-flight experience, rose to the occasion. As reported by as.com, Santana had barely featured at this level before this outing.

She produced eight saves, including two brilliant stops with her feet to deny Weir, another to thwart Linda and a late one-on-one block from Alba Redondo. Her interventions underpinned a landmark result on Madrid soil.

Santana came through Hernani and Añorga, then played for Eibar before joining Real Sociedad B in 2019. She debuted for the Real Sociedad first team on 9 May 2021 against Athletic, a 2-1 defeat, and largely served as back-up to Adriana Nanclares and Elene Lete, who is now at London City.

She moved to Athletic in the summer from Real Sociedad and had not yet featured for the zurigorri until this match. Santana expressed hope that Nanclares recovers as soon as possible and said she was still processing the significance of the victory. Head coach Javier Lerga praised her calm display and said she more than earned her opportunity.

Source: as.com