Goalkeepers have become increasingly vital to the way a football team plays.
We’ve seen this with Manchester City keeper Ederson and how comfortable he is with the ball at his feet.
We’ve also recently seen David de Gea struggle to play out from the back for Erik ten Hag’s Manchester United.
However, first and foremost, a goalkeepers job is to keep the ball out of his net.
This season has raised the question: Are teams prioritising a goalkeeper’s passing ability over their actual goalkeeping abilities?
In this data analysis, we will be looking at the statistics of each Premier League goalkeeper to determine if they have been reliant on their team’s defence.
We will be analysing the first-choice goalkeepers from each team, focusing on their goalkeeping, passing and sweeping.
These categories will give us a well-rounded analysis.
Who are the best shot-stoppers?
A goalkeeper’s data can often look good because he is situated behind a strong defensive unit.
Therefore, it’s important to consider this when analysing a goalkeeper.
Goalkeepers for worse teams face more shots, meaning they are more likely to concede.
This first graph will take into consideration the number of shots each team faces.
The graph below examines the number of shots each goalkeeper faces per 90 minutes and the frequency with which they save these shots.
The best goalkeepers here are the ones in the top right quadrant.
These players have faced an above-average number of shots per 90, while also boasting a save percentage of over 67.5%.
