Whilst some goalkeepers may catch the eye, pulling off save after save, this is often because they play in a team that faces a lot of shots. It may sound obvious, but the more shots a keeper faces, the more saves they are likely to make.
By the same token, goalkeepers playing behind watertight defences may boast impressive clean sheets and save percentage records, but this is likely a result of their team’s system limiting their opposition to few and low-quality chances, rather than being entirely attributable to their own individual brilliance.
It is therefore clear that relying on ‘volume-based’ stats is an insufficient method for telling how good a goalkeeper is.
Because PSxG factors in the quality of the shot taken rather than just the quality of the opportunity, a goalkeeper’s ability to make saves can be universally judged by the difference between their goals conceded and the PSxG of the chances they face. Conceding fewer goals than PSxG suggests indicates an above-average number one.
thesporting.blog
