Who Has Been The Best Goalkeeper This Season? Analysis

Goalkeepers don’t usually steal the spotlight. They warm up away from the main squad, suit up differently, and wear gloves that look better suited for arctic survival than football. Still, they’ve become essential to both defense and attack. So, we dug deep into the 2024/25 Premier League season to spotlight the men in gloves and how they’ve shaped the campaign.

Let’s start where tradition demands: clean sheets.

Clean Sheet Kings:
Nottingham Forest are having a season to remember, and Belgian keeper Matz Sels has been a rock at the back. With 13 clean sheets so far, he leads the pack in the Golden Glove race.

Sels came close to making it 14 against Spurs, but Richarlison’s late header cut short that dream, despite Forest winning 2-1.

Trailing Sels are:
– David Raya (Arsenal) – 12

– Jordan Pickford (Everton) and Dean Henderson (Crystal Palace) – 10 each

– André Onana (Manchester United) and Alisson Becker (Liverpool) – 9 each

It’s worth noting: Alisson has played only 23 games, nine fewer than Onana and 10 fewer than the top four names above.

Also notable:
– Ederson (Man City) – 7 clean sheets from 22 matches
– Robert Sánchez (Chelsea) – 7 from 27
– Kepa Arrizabalaga (Bournemouth, on loan from Chelsea) – 7 from 26

Who’s Had the Most Work?

When it comes to saves, Brentford’s Mark Flekken leads the league with 133 stops, 25 more than any other keeper. Aaron Ramsdale (Southampton) and Sels are next with 108 each.

Others in the triple-digit club:
– Mads Hermansen (Leicester) – 101
– Pickford – 100
– Bernd Leno (Fulham) – 96
– Henderson – 94

Of course, high save totals usually mean a busy, often exposed backline.

Save Efficiency

To level the field, we look at save percentage with a minimum of 500 minutes played.

– David Raya leads the pack with a save rate of 73.5%
– Close behind: Sels (73.3%), Flekken (73.0%), Sánchez (72.6%), and Alisson (72.5%)

Down the list:
– Christian Walton (Ipswich Town) has the lowest at 51.5% across 540 minutes, also facing the highest xGOT/90 (2.55)

– Others near the bottom: Sam Johnstone (Wolves) – 57.5%, José Sá (Wolves) – 58.5%, Jakub Stolarczyk (Leicester) – 58.6%, Bart Verbruggen (Brighton) – 58.7%

Goals Prevented
Looking at Opta’s “goals prevented” stat (actual goals conceded minus expected goals on target), Verbruggen has had the worst luck or form, conceding 50 goals from 44.7 xGOT, meaning 5.3 more than expected.

Others underperforming:
– Alphonse Areola (West Ham) – -3.5
– Leno – -3.2
– Sá – -3.0
– Johnstone – -3.0

But there are bright spots:
– Dean Henderson stands tall, with 42 goals conceded vs 46.35 xGOT, meaning he prevented 4.4 goals

– Ederson, Vicario (Tottenham), and Sels each have a +4.2 differential
– Hermansen rounds it out with +3.7

Raya and Henderson are also the only two keepers to have played every minute this season without committing an error leading to a goal.

Costly Mistakes:
On the flip side:
– Sánchez, Arijanet Muric, and Verbruggen top the list with 5 errors each

– Onana has 3
– Pope, Ederson, McCarthy, and Areola – 2 apiece

From the Back
Distribution matters now more than ever. Let’s talk assists.

– Ederson has four, half of all goalkeeper assists in the league
– He outpaces attacking names like Rashford, Foden, and Gakpo
– Other keepers with one assist: Verbruggen, Pickford, Leno, and Flekken

Ederson also leads in chances created (4), with all converting to goals. Raya and Pickford top secondary chance creation with 5 each, passes to a teammate who then creates a chance.

Passing Precision:

– Vicario (Spurs) holds the best passing accuracy at 88.8%

– Ederson follows at 86.6%, with Fraser Forster (Spurs) at 82.6%

– Then comes Filip Jørgensen (Chelsea) at 82.4%, and Alisson at 80.4%

Playing it Short vs. Going Long

Vicario’s short game stands out, with 75.4% of his goal kicks staying inside the box
No other keeper has even 50% of kicks remain that short

Conversely, Sels has the lowest pass accuracy at 46.5%, but it’s because he goes long often. His average successful pass travels 36.7 meters, longest in the league.

Others going long with less success:
– Hermansen (56.0%), Sá (57.6%), Henderson (57.7%), Ramsdale (61.8%)
– Surprisingly, Ramsdale ranks 5th in long balls attempted (533)

Pickford leads all keepers in long passes (776) with 41.2% accuracy. He’s followed by:
– Flekken – 687 (44.7%)
– Sels – 657 (35.8%)
– Henderson – 548 (26.8%)

Final Third Distribution:
Pickford tops this metric too, with 118 passes reaching the attacking third
Behind him:
– Flekken – 74
– Ramsdale – 54
– Raya and Sels – 52 each