Goalkeeper Errors Premier League Matchday 10 2021

[Photo via Mega Agency]

The idea behind these articles on goalkeeper errors in the Premier League is not to go ahead and shame and pick on certain goalkeepers. Although I do suspect that a couple of these guys are going to be here often. Very rarely do we see a week in a league like the Premier League where we’re going to be able to find 5 clear errors that goalkeepers made. Even if that’s the case I may even refrain from putting the major error on the list. Ok, probably not, but the idea is that goalkeepers of all ages and skill levels will be able to look at the pros messing up. That always feels comforting, especially when you’ve had a bad day at the office yourself. Obviously, ideally we’ll be able to find some teaching points in some of these mistakes. 

With goalkeeper errors especially at high level competitions we usually trace them back to a poor judgment call. In fact, in most of the ones that we’re going to be talking about this week the ball may have ended up in the back of the net regardless of what the goalkeeper did. In many cases though it’s making the right decisions in the split seconds that you have that can make a save more likely. Most of these plays have that element. In the sense that there are things that could have been done better to make a save more likely. Most of the goalkeeper errors in the Premier League at least for this week are positioning errors. In my view many coaches can do a great job teaching some of the fundamentals like catching and diving, but positioning is the ultimate goalkeeping art form.      

Ederson vs Crystal Palace : Hard Week To Find Goalkeeper Errors Premier League

In the interest of full disclosure this would probably not make the list on many weeks. I think there’s a major learning point in this play though. It’s that last step or little jump backward that he takes. You can see him looking back to try and figure exactly where he is with regard to the goal. This happens on breakaways you need to find the proper position quickly. A lot of times though there’s an argument to be made that it’s better to stick to a wrong position when the shooter is getting close. Especially that far into the box you usually don’t want to be taking steps back, you want to be taking steps forward.   

The shot ultimately, isn’t the best one ever. That really leads me to believe that had he not taken that small jump backward just before the shot came in he would’ve had a better opportunity to make the save. Especially a goalkeeper of his caliber. Interestingly enough although the second goal in this surprising game was a screamer you see some of the same doubt in Ederson. He doesn’t seem all that comfortable walking the goal and getting himself into position. If I had to make a guess the first goal was in his head. You can see that he’s uncomfortable with his positioning, and maybe he’s second guessed himself for the rest of the match.   

Alisson vs Brighton : Is This Really An Error?

This entry could be controversial. When you see the ball come down the way that it did, you know it’s going to be tough to make a save regardless. He kind of loses the ball in the sun as well. However, there’s an argument to be made that this goal directly showcases the biggest weakness in Alisson Becker’s game. This is an issue with a lot of tall goalkeepers. They rely way too much on their reach, and they are not effectively able to walk around the goal to be able to make a save like this. Again, making that save would’ve been amazing. He could’ve had 3 saves in the best of the week this week instead of 2. 

At the end of the day I chose this goal because it carries a major teaching point. In the saves article I talked about how Hugo Lloris is able to not get flustered by the incoming shot. In this case I think Allison sees the ball late. He’s out of position all the way through. Again though the biggest problem is that he relies too much on his size time and time again. When you get caught doing that against guys that have the quality to put in such a perfect shot you’re going to pay. Really the shot came down perfectly. It’s one of those hard enough lobs that don’t allow you to comfortably take a couple of steps back and make the save. Still, a goalkeeper of this caliber could’ve made the save. As was the case with his national team teammate he can get a pass here.

Robert Sanchez vs Liverpool: This Wouldn’t Have Been His Worst Goalkeeper Errors Premier League  

This is perhaps one of the hardest plays for a goalkeeper to make at any level. Robert Sanchez doesn’t necessarily make a mistake or rather his poor judgment twice on the play doesn’t allow him to make what would be almost a routine play. It’s hard to think of it like that, because those crosses that are almost frontal lobs seem like the easiest thing in the world for a keeper to be able to handle. That just isn’t the case, and Sanchez ends up with one of the goalkeeper errors, Premier League for the week. Again I chose this play because there weren’t really any major errors. This play, though, brings up a major teaching point. 

Robert Sanchez is gotta come out and get this ball. Especially if a player like Mane is able to make a low header. There’s a moment though when he potentially believes that the defender is going to be able to get to the ball. That was obviously not the case, but that moment of hesitation is what leads to the goal. Really hard to navigate all that traffic. That’s why we see plenty of these goals on a weekly basis. If you’re going to come out just go all in. Otherwise, that middle ground is literally no man’s land. We’re going to see a couple of examples of that coming up.   

Álvaro Fernández vs Burnley : The Goal Was Still A Screamer 

This week we literally picked on Spanish and Brazilian goalkeepers for this section. Here’s to hoping that they do better next week so that this problem doesn’t happen again. This first goal is again a screamer, and potentially the ball is going to find the back of the net regardless of what Fernandez is able to do. However, he’s got some of the same problems that we saw with Ederson. It’s a breakaway, and he just has no idea where he’s supposed to be. He slips at one point he wants to be further off the line, and sadly he finds himself in no man’s land.  

In a lot of these plays with frontal passes it can be really hard for a goalkeeper to find the perfect position. With Fernandez here he’s not far enough away from the goal and subsequently close to the shooter to be able to have an effect on the shot at all. He’s not far back enough to maybe make the shooter think too much about the shot, and allow a defender to come in. These are things that are going to happen as a goalkeeper. You want to make sure though that they definitely happen the least number of times possible. This could’ve gone down as a one off thing, but Fernandez was caught out of position again. 

Worst Goalkeeper Errors Premier League Matchday 10 : Álvaro Fernández vs Burnley 

No this is not a repeat of the last error. This is potentially the worst goalkeeper error Premier goalkeepers committed this week. The honor was going to go to Robert Sanchez by far with a play where he got a pass back he couldn’t control, he kicked it off Mane and conceded a goal. Luckily for Sanchez that goal was called because of a hand ball. That left his countryman with the worst of the worst honor. This is another goal that’s a major teaching point. Here though, Álvaro Fernández is completely at fault. He teases that he’s coming out and froze his own defense.

Ultimately he’s caught in no man’s land as was the case for many goalkeepers this week. The header goes in and that’s all she wrote. In goalkeeping, and in those types of plays in particular it’s usually better to just make a decision early. If you’re going to stay put, stay put, if you’re going to go, go and brace for the consequences whatever they may be. No man’s land though is a spot that you definitely don’t want to be in. Unfortunately for Fernandez he found himself out of position in two of the 3 goals that he conceded. Fernandez is a decent keeper though hopefully he’ll bounce back.    

Goalkeeper Errors Premier League Conclusion 

The idea is to create lists at the end of the year with the worst and the best of goalkeepers from the top flight of English football. Right now, Fernandez’s error is the one topping the charts. It wasn’t that bad though to the point where it has a shot to make a list at the end of the year. Unless we just get flawless goalkeeper play in the Premier League for the rest of the year.