It’s a goalkeeper’s job to stop what we all love to see – goals. This is the reason why they play such an important role at every football club. The recent transfer business of shot-stoppers has shown that these historically underappreciated footballers are being placed alongside outfield players. Ederson’s transfer to Manchester City for £36milion saw the transfer record for a goalkeeper be broken for the first time since Gianluigi Buffon’s move to Juventus in 2001.
In this data analysis, I will be looking at the statistics of each goalkeeper in Europe’s top five leagues to decide five candidates that should be scouted further. I will be analysing goalkeepers who have played at least 1000 minutes in their respective leagues this season, focusing on the lesser-known goalkeepers to identify surprising candidates. The data I use will be broken down into three categories, shot-stopping, passing, and aggressiveness, giving us a well-rounded analysis.
Who are the best shot-stoppers?
Some data can be misleading when it comes to goalkeepers preventing goals, as his defence can have such a big impact. For example, a player who faces more shots per 90, will often concede more goals. Therefore, it is important to find the correct data to analyse.
This first section will look at PS xG. This metric is similar to the normalised expected goal but doesn’t take into consideration blocked shots or shots off target. Meaning it gives a more clear picture of the quality of shots faced.
The below graph looks at the quality of the shots each keeper faces per 90, and how many goals they have conceded.
Players in the middle of this graph who are above the trend line are the best performers here. They often face and save, above quality shots. The standout players are the ones highest above the line.
Surprisingly, Tottenham’s Hugo Lloris is highest above the line. The Frenchman has 1.64 PS xG per 90, but only concedes 1.17 goals per 90. Although Lloris has only played 1078 minutes of Premier League football this season, he’s shown that he’s still capable of saving the harder shots he faces. Even if he does struggle with the slightly easier tasks.
