Peter Gulacsi 2019/20 – scout report

In what will be an enthralling end to a crazy Bundesliga season, RB Leipzig has once again impressed. The German league sees the most goals per game compared to the top five European leagues, 3.21. This means that goalkeeper stats can often be misleading and appear bad compared to other leagues.

In our latest data analysis on the best goalkeepers in Europe’s top five leagues, Péter Gulácsi impressed. The Hungarian international certainly has an incredible story to back up his impressive performances. A five-year stint at Liverpool, with loans to the likes of Tranmere Rovers and Hereford United, was followed by an important move to Red Bull Salzburg. Since then the 30-year-old has nailed down a place at RB Leipzig. Becoming one of the best goalkeepers in world football.

This tactical analysis will look at the role Gulácsi has played for his team this season, and why he is such a consistent performer. We will analyse the most important aspects of goalkeeping, as well as how he fits into his coach’s tactics.

Is Péter Gulácsi one of the worlds best?

Bundesliga sees more goals than other top leagues, so it is important to use fair data to compare him with the rest. The below graph shows how each goalkeeper has performed this season, by calculating their PS xG +/-. This means how many goals they have conceded compared to how many they were expected to concede.

The Leipzig shot-stopper comes in at sixth place, saving 1.6 more goals than he was expected to. Arsenal’s Bernd Leno, Juventus’ Wojciech Szczęsny and Liverpool’s Alisson all stand out from the rest. Nonetheless, when we look at the calibre of keepers that have a negative rating, we get a sense of how good Gulácsi has been this season.

Let’s narrow the search down to goalkeepers within his league, this gives us a more reliable outcome as these goalkeepers all face the same opposition.