Wednesday 17th December 2014 9:57
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Is David De Gea really the best keeper in the Premier League?
David De Gea has been tipped as one of the world's best keepers recently; he isn't even the finest in England, writes WhoScored's Ali Tweedale.
"I've seen quite a few decent (performances) from the 'keepers I've played with...but today was probably the best one I've seen at Old Trafford". The words of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, who played alongside Peter Schmeichel and Edwin van der Sar for years, in the aftermath of David De Gea shutting out Liverpool last Sunday. Following on, Jamie Carragher questioned whether Manuel Neuer or Thibaut Courtois, the goalkeepers he called the best two in the world, "had ever put in a performance like that", also claiming it to be "one of the best I've ever seen".
It was a goalkeeping masterclass, and De Gea is indeed an excellent No.1. He has put the shaky start he made to life at Manchester United well behind him and is showing the kind of form that persuaded the club to pay a British record fee for a keeper (around £18m) back in 2011. Still, to rank him alongside the likes of Neuer seems somewhat premature.
The Spaniard's eight saves against Liverpool was the joint-highest in a Premier League game this season, while his seven saves from shots from inside the penalty area was more than anyone else has managed. Both are clearly impressive tallies. However, it is fair to say that some particularly poor finishing from Raheem Sterling helped De Gea and, aside from two excellent saves to repel Mario Balotelli efforts, he would probably have been expected to stop all the shots that came his way.
Although De Gea's display was the best in the Premier League this season according to WhoScored's rating (9.08), there have been many other incredible goalkeeping performances in recent times that should be put above the Spaniard's.
Roman Weidenfeller made an unbelievable 12 saves in Dortmund's 2-1 defeat to Bayern Munich in November; Chievo's highly-rated Francecso Bardi, on loan from Inter, made nine saves, including one from a Gonzalo Higuaín penalty, as he registered a perfect 10 in a 1-0 win at Napoli; Tim Krul also picked up a 10 from WhoScored as he made 14 saves in a 1-0 Newcastle victory at White Hart Lane last season. These all occurred within the last 14 months. To say De Gea's display at Old Trafford was one of the best ever is rather hasty.
De Gea is proving absolutely essential to this United team. Without him they would certainly be worse off but, while he looks a lot more confident and has yet to make a single error leading to a goal this season, he still lacks a command of his area that the best keepers possess.
Courtois and Neuer's reading of crosses and their decision-making when balls come into the box sets them apart. The Chelsea number one has successfully claimed 29 crosses in league games this season, some 18 more than De Gea (11). In this regard, United's No.1 ranks 18th of the 20 first-choice stoppers in the top flight, ahead of only Simon Mignolet (10) and Kasper Schmeichel (six). He has improved on crosses but still remains far from the best in this sense.
In England, the debate as to who is the best goalkeeper usually involves De Gea, Courtois and Tottenham's Hugo Lloris. All three have incredibly similar average WhoScored ratings, with 6.77, 6.75 and 6.79 respectively. But while displays such as De Gea's at Old Trafford on Sunday grab the headlines, consistency is the most important trait a goalkeeper can exhibit.
De Gea's performance was the best by any keeper in the Premier League this season, beating Hugo Lloris' at Manchester City (8.42) and Courtois' rating (8.30) against United. However, of the top nine displays by these three stoppers in their combined 47 appearances, Courtois is only responsible for one (De Gea three, Lloris five). The Belgian's name also only appears three times in the list of the trio's best 17 displays.
At the same time, though, De Gea and Lloris have endured more poor performances than Courtois. De Gea conceded five goals and failed to make a single save in defeat at Leicester (rating 4.95) and stopped zero shots in a 2-2 draw at struggling West Brom (5.54). Meanwhile, Lloris made zero saves, caught zero crosses and made zero clearances in the 2-2 draw at Sunderland (5.60) and did nothing to repel Newcastle in a home defeat in October (5.83). While both teams were let down by some woeful defending, the two keepers, as the last line of defence, did not stand up on those occasions.
De Gea's showing on Sunday was one of pure brilliance but the praise from Solskjaer and Carragher was a tad premature. De Gea will remain behind Courtois until he can maintain the level of consistency and command that the Belgian has shown over the short time the two have emerged as the Premier League's best goalkeepers.
You can follow Ali on Twittter @alitweedale.
All statistics courtesy of WhoScored.com, where you can find yet more stats, including live in-game data and unique player and team ratings.
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