This week there were a ton of 1v1 saves in contention for the best saves Premier League goalkeepers. For one reason or another none of them made the list. However, I do think it’s fair to give out some honorable mentions before I get started with the top five. Particularly since, a couple of goalkeepers who have been on the errors lists had good weeks. I’m specifically talking about David De Gea. He had an amazing 1v1 save where he kind of twists his ankle on his own to try and make sure that he’s able to make a play on the ball. The feet with David are a gift and a curse.
Alisson Becker had a couple of saves that could’ve made the list as well. He was one of the goalkeepers that had to endure massive snow storms this week. I was greatly surprised that I couldn’t find a goal all week that I would say was a direct result of the weather. Which, I feel, is remarkable. Even when you’re somewhat used to playing in the cold the snow got real bad in a couple of games. For there to not be a full goalkeeper error attributable to the weather is amazing. As are some of the saves in this week’s best saves Premier League goalkeepers for matchday 13 so let’s get going.
5. Martin Dúbravka vs Arsenal – Conservative Free Kick Save
This isn’t the most spectacular save of the week by any means. If push comes to shove there could be a couple of saves that didn’t make the list where you could argue more skill is required. I wanted to put this save on the list though because it’s a save that if you’re able to make consistently is going to keep you employed. More often than not we see goalkeepers get antsy with these types of saves. They want to dive before they need to, or they want to hold on to the ball. The shot naturally isn’t coming in with a lot of power. There’s no reason to debate that.
What makes this save good is the footwork and the discipline combined with the decision-making. As I mentioned, he doesn’t get flustered trying to catch up to the ball. He knows that if he takes his steps he’s going to be able to get there rather quickly. Ultimately I think he sees the post out of the corner of his eye and that’s why he deflects the ball and tries to cover up for landing. That part could’ve been better. He gets enough on the ball though to ensure that even when the Arsenal player gets it the empty net isn’t necessarily in play. I promise this is going to be the most boring save on the list! Actually all of the rest are pretty dynamic. However, this one is important because Martin Dúbravka combines a lot of the simple goalkeeping concepts we need to keep in mind.
4. Alex McCarthy vs Liverpool – A Veteran Save Keeping His Cool
I know I just promised that the other saves on the list would have a little more juice than the first one. Bear with me though, we’ll get there. Alex McCarthy’s save here has a lot of components on the technical side that are interesting and also on the mental side. The score is already 3-0 at this point. This is a ball that if he kind of lets by, he can almost get away with it not counting against him. However, he’s able to muster up some pride, navigate the goal accordingly and dive to make the save. He navigates the goal so well that it almost seems like this is an easy save.
This is again one of those saves that you have to be very disciplined about. If you dive too early you’re not going to get there. Plus, it’s a save to the far post where you’re going in blind. These types of dives are scary even for some of the top goalkeepers in the world because you don’t have a lot of certainty on where you’re going to land. Ideally, you’ll be able to see some type of mark to get a feel for where you are in the goal before you make the dive. Otherwise, there is a good chance that you can hurt yourself. In taking into account all of that this is certainly a save that is worthy of being in the top 5 this week!
3. Robert Sánchez vs Leeds United – That’s What Being On Your Toes Is About
A lot of coaches that coach both goalkeepers and field players want to talk about this concept of being on your toes. There are few examples as perfect as this play from Robert Sanchez. Even pro goalkeepers get “jumpy” instead of being on their toes. You literally don’t want to jump that high because a split second that it takes for you to get down could be the difference between making the save or not. In this case the footwork and the awareness by Robert Sanchez are off the charts in my book. The biggest challenge with shots in these types of plays where there are a ton of people in the box is seeing the ball.
For years even play by play guys have tallied up errors on goalkeepers for these types of plays. When you’ve really stood back there you understand that you sometimes can’t see a thing. That’s why it’s super important to be on your toes in these types of plays. Here Sanchez walks the goal perfectly and only commits to the dive when the ball is coming in as clean as it can get. If there’s a deflection in some of these plays that can kill your chances. There are a couple of deflections here I think. That’s why the ball is coming in a little wild. Sanchez is able to make a perfect save though!
2. Illan Meslier vs Brighton – The Perfect Reaction Save
This is one of those saves that you dream about. Really the other saves that are on the list this week are saves that you’re going to be able to make with training and time playing the position. This one though is one of those that’s more on the innate ability that someone has. Whereas in the other saves there’s a thought process that you have to go through to keep yourself disciplined this is the opposite. You have to just go at the exact moment to be able to get a touch on the ball and effect the shot. If we want to talk about what Meslier did technically that allowed him to make the save it’s being in the right position.
He’s far enough off the line to be able to close off that angle. That angle though is going to vary depending on where the ball is, but also what type of reach you personally have. That’s really why sometimes positioning can be so personal. Like in boxing one goalkeeper’s reach won’t be the same as the other guy’s. Also, the feet play a major role in this save. He doesn’t necessarily take the extra steps that we always talk about. He has enough strength in his legs though to be able to push off and get in a decent dive. Then it’s just about stretching the hand out and trying to find the ball. This is one of the best reaction saves that we’ve seen all season. It just missed out on the number one spot this week, because it does require a bit of luck. Particularly with the ball hitting the post!
Best Saves Premier League Goalkeepers Matchday 13 Top Save
Aaron Ramsdale vs Newcastle
We actually had 4 of the top 5 saves come from only two matches. That’s just a coincidence. I do male an effort to watch at least the highlights of every game in the Premier League and La Liga to make these articles. In this case I had to put Aaron Ramsdale save as number one because it pretty much encapsulates what was good about some of the other saves on the list. Here you can clearly see in the first shot that he can’t see the ball. As I was talking about before, when there are a lot of people in front of the goal it makes it hard to see the ball.
When he locates the ball he does two things well. Number one is he doesn’t hesitate to let his body go and make an acrobatic save. This is something that I really like about Ramsdale; he has the raw athleticism to be able to make some of these acrobatic saves that other goalkeepers are just not going to be able to make. There’s another important point though. I love the hand gesture to make sure that the ball will go over the bar. This is just awareness at its best. You know where you are and what you need to do. It’s a great reflex save with different components that take it over the top.
