There were plenty of good saves in LaLiga this week. Many of the folks that you’re going to see on the list are goalkeepers who have been on the list before. It’s amazing how someone in his 40’s keeps coming up with big time saves. Particularly since he was never considered a superb goalkeeper. However, I’m going to have to revisit Diego Lopez’s career to see if I remember it correctly. What he’s doing at 40 is remarkable. What’s also interesting about this week is that all of the saves have something unique about them. It would seem like for the Premier League I was looking for a particular type of save to put on the list. If you’re looking for variety though La Liga saves of the week have it for you this week!
Another thing that is unique to these lists so far is the first ugly save that actually makes the LaLiga Saves of the week. I believe these types of saves are extremely hard for younger goalkeepers to make. Just being honest here, it’s hard to coach these types of saves. Ultimately you’re doing something that isn’t textbook. If you make that type of save on the training pitch some coaches could even want to scold you for it. The fact is, in a real game the ball can take all sorts of different spins. Finding ways to deal with that is always a good skill to have. With that said, let’s get started with the La Liga saves of the week for matchday 15.
5. Jasper Cillessen vs Rayo Vallecano – The Best Ugly Save Of The Season
We’d given some spoilers out about this save in the previous paragraphs. As we’ve said now a couple of times this happens to be the best, ugly save of the season. I’m going to do my best here to try to explain exactly what went down with this particular save. What’s clear is that the ball takes an awkward bounce right in front of Jasper. From the second angle in the video we can see that the ball is not going to give Jasper Cillessen a clean look. So, trying to catch this ball could be a fatal mistake. If anything I would’ve loved to see him get his body a bit behind the ball. Ultimately, it looks like he ends up with a very small contact area on the hands where the ball can hit to be deflected. So things could’ve gone terrible.
However, that’s potentially a testament to how hard the ball was actually hit! All of the things that we talked about that Jasper has to decide, not catch the ball, and dive awkwardly to try and punch it out are decisions that he made in fractions of a second. He’s able to not only keep the ball away from the goal, but he doesn’t give up any second chance shots. From looking at everything I would say it’s a win-win. With the ugliest good save of the season.
4. Thibaut Courtois vs Sevilla – An Amazing Overall Play Ends In Perfect 1v1
This win for Real Madrid against Sevilla could be one of those matches that they look back on if they end up winning the league as a deciding factor. The game was not easy. In fact, Courtois kept them in the game, and a goalkeeper error and a great play from Vinny Jr. allowed them to take the win. On this particular play what really stood out to me was the effort to keep himself in the play. For such a tall goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois has amazingly quick feet and balance to keep himself in these types of plays. Yes, the first shot goes under his legs, but he’s affecting the whole angle of the shot. Players usually don’t want to shoot high on him when he’s that close.
In essentially the next play where he actually makes the save there are a couple of things to highlight. Number one, he tracks the ball down beautifully. When it goes under your legs then comes out in another direction that can be hard to do. Then even after the amount of time that he’s in that sort of crouched position he’s still able to get low for the second shot and make the block. This is in all intents and purposes an effort save. Probably not the type of save that you associate with Thibaut Courtois all that often. Still a top play nonetheless.
3. Diego Lopez vs Real Sociedad – Great Reaction To The Volley
There are saves that you have to make as goalkeeper. Particularly when we’re talking about goalkeepers at this level. Then there are saves that you’re glad to make. If you don’t make the save it’s “fine” it’ll be a decent goal that’s not necessarily your fault. If this one goes in, especially if Diego Lopez still touches it there’s little that Espanyol fans would have to complain about. I explained this recently in one of these articles, can’t remember which one. What I talked about though, was the fact that volley shots are usually not going to be as straightforward as regular shots. You can get a twist and turn here and there. The fact that Diego Lopez is able to deflect to the post is outstanding.
He’s not just dealing with the volley here. It’s a volley that bounces off the turf and can take a strange trajectory because of it. Granted, the shot seems like it stays on line quite a bit. He ends up diving a little backwards. That I think is more of a reaction after he tips the shot. He kinds of wants to look back and see where the ball is going to end up. It’s not so much a technique error. It’s more like a natural reaction to want to see what’s going to happen with the shot after it leaves his glove.
2. Stole Dimitrievski vs Valencia – What You Want To Do In Crosses
There are essentially two things that you’re able to do as a goalkeeper when a cross comes in. You can either come out and try to intercept the cross or at least affect the trajectory. The other option that you have is what we sometimes call staying put. When we talk about staying put it doesn’t necessarily mean that you literally freeze. I understand that’s what a lot of goalkeepers do. That’s why most goalkeepers would not have been able to make a play on this ball. There are a couple of things that Stole Dimitrievski does really well here. Number one with a ball that far out onto the far post he doesn’t want to cut the cross. That could take him out of the play quickly. He follows the play to the far post though.
When the Valencia player heads the ball back, what Stole Dimitrievski really does well is just keep moving. If you can’t dive to the ball at that point you have to keep moving and following the play. That way when the shot comes in he’s able to dive and make the save. Many goalkeepers would’ve gotten lost on the play. Either they would’ve tried and failed to intercept the cross leaving an empty, or they would’ve stayed at the post and not kept moving. This is another massive effort play where the goalkeeper ends up with a reward. That’s why you do a ton of training moving from post to post.
Top La Liga Saves of The Week Matchday 15
Álex Remiro vs Espanyol – An Awesome Reaction Save
This is one of those saves where you can look at it, in real time and realize that it’s an amazing save. Even if you’re not a major fan of football you know that’s the case. The shot is from up close, and he’s in perfect position to be able to make a play on the ball. He’s reach is stunning, and a lot of times that’s god given there’s not much you can do if you don’t have it. Particularly in those reaction plays. What amazed me the most was when I looked at the play in slo-mo from the angle that lets you see things from inside the goal. This is the angle that I really like when judging these plays. It lets you see what they saw. The ball is kind of deflected.
Whether the deflection caused the ball to alter its course or not is debatable. What I do believe is that the shot isn’t coming in as clean as it would have, had the defender not touched it. So the hand that Álex Remiro gets in there has to be strong enough to hold down the power of the shot and the spin on the ball. The main reason why he’s able to make a play on this ball is because he happened to be in perfect position when the shot came in. To be able to react and not panic when a shot comes in from close range sometimes takes years and years of practice.
