Mike Maignan Scout Report At LOSC Lille 2020/2021 – Player To Watch

LOSC Lille have started the 2020/21 league campaign surprisingly well.

They currently sit second, just two points behind PSG.

Their strong start after 12 games is mainly due to their defensive solidity.

Perhaps the most crucial player in this defence is French goalkeeper Mike Maignan.

The 25-year-old has been tipped to replace current France and Tottenham number one, Hugo Lloris.

Maignan has recently won his first French cap and is certainly on track to become one of the best goalkeepers in the world.

This tactical analysis will examine why the young goalkeeper has received such high praise and what he needs to improve on to take his game to the next level.

We will examine why he is such an effective shot-stopper and how he helps his team in defence.

We will also use stats to contextualise his performances by comparing him to other goalkeepers in Europe’s top five leagues.

Great positioning means non-spectacular saves

Maignan is very similar to Atlético Madrid’s Jan Oblak in his saving style.

Both have very good positional sense, meaning because they’re in the best position to make a save, they very rarely need to make a significant movement to make a save.

But how does he compare to other goalkeepers this season?

The above graph looks at the average shot difficulty that each keeper faces and the number of goals they prevent above/below the expected per 90 minutes.

We’ve labelled the best performers.