Ederson: Why is the Brazilian struggling at Manchester City? – scout report

Manchester City have had the best defensive records over the past few seasons. But how much is this down to their Brazilian goalkeeper, Ederson? Since his move from Benfica, he has taken the Premier League by storm with his excellent sweeping and pinpoint passing. However, in recent times, his goalkeeping ability has been questioned. He’s one of the highest valued goalkeepers in world football, but how much of this is because of his passing and the fact that he plays for one of the best defences in the league?

This tactical analysis will look at his stats and performances and whether he is relying on his defence. We’ll look at his weaknesses and what he needs to improve on if he is to stay in the Manchester City first-team. We will compare him to other goalkeepers in the league and then look at his shot-stopping, sweeping and passing to give an overall picture of his game.

Where does Ederson rank as a goalkeeper?

Ederson often gets more praise for his passing and positioning with the ball than his goalkeeping abilities, something that should be of concern. After the problems that Pep Guardiola faced to find a goalkeeper who could pass, this doesn’t seem too surprising, however. But how does his shot-stopping abilities compare to the rest of the league?

The graph above looks at the number of goals saved above/below expected, against the difficulty of shots that they face. As we can see, Ederson faces the joint second most difficult shots, with 0.37. As a result of this, he concedes 0.08 more goals than he should per 90. These stats don’t read well for Ederson, but there may be a reason why.

The Brazilian has the most clean sheets this season with four, showing that the defence in front of him is extremely impressive. He has only faced 13 shots on target, conceding six goals in the process. But why is this? Every goal that Ederson has conceded this season has basically been unsavable, as we can see from the above graph. Take Aston Villa’s goal as an example.