Zack Steffen, Liverpool’s goalkeeper, made a costly error that put Liverpool up for an FA Cup semi-final victory over Manchester City on Saturday afternoon.
In a decade-old tweet that surfaced during Saturday’s FA Cup semi-final, Manchester City goalkeeper Zack Steffen claimed Liverpool were interested in his services.
The 27-year-old was thrust into the limelight at Wembley Stadium after making a blunder that allowed the Reds to score. He stayed too long on the ball in his own half, allowing Sadio Mane to shut him down and double the lead Ibrahima Konate had given the Reds.
It was a pivotal moment in Liverpool’s dominant first-half performance, with Mane expanding the lead with a beautiful volley just before the break. Steffen was chastised further after being beaten at his near post by the Senegalese striker, and observant fans quickly unearthed an old social media post he wrote about the Liverpool club.
“Liverpool FC wants to offer me a trial,” the United States international wrote on Twitter in 2012, when he was a young prospect at the Philadelphia Union school. While Steffen claims to have been on the Reds’ radar, he ended up signing with the Maryland Terrapins and did not leave his nation until 2015 to join the European scene. Before returning to the United States to play for the Columbus Crew in Major League Soccer, the Pennsylvania native made his debut for Freiburg’s second team.
Steffen then went to the Etihad in 2019 for a cost in the region of £7 million, making 20 appearances for the Sky Blues. Only two of these came in the Premier League, but Pep Guardiola has entrusted him with a number of responsibilities in domestic cup tournaments. Following Steffen’s costly error in the semi-final, which regular No. 1 Ederson witnessed from the substitutes’ bench, this decision may be questioned.
Mane, on the other hand, was certain that Liverpool’s high-pressing tactics had driven the shot-stopper into his error. “Today was special because we were playing against one of the top teams in the world,” said the man of the match on BBC One. Winning a game like this, especially in a semi-final, is a huge accomplishment.
“We were ecstatic to win and advance to the final. We got off to a great start, with everyone on the attack – the goalie made a mistake for my first goal, but I believe we forced him to make it. That is our approach, and I believe it makes a difference.”