John Harrison Profile picture
May 18, 2021 8 tweets 7 min read Read on X
What a save from #DeGea

Unbelievably calm GKing in a crucial moment

It may look like a simple save but that’s all because of his exemplary decision to use the wait & react 1v1 strategy as the 1v1 was from long range!

Not many GKs could make such a good decision

#MUFC #MUNFUL
The striker was ~16 yrds from the centre of goal & at a pretty wide angle (hard to see from the photo) so #DeGea’s decision to stay deep made the finish very difficult as he didn’t rush out & gift a simple dink/rounded finish
The great thing about #DeGea’s positioning here is that if the striker takes a touch rather than shooting he’s far enough off his line & prepared & ready to engage then, only once he knows the striker is so close to goal that he can no longer trust his reactions to make the save!
#DeGea’s ability to not panic & rush out during long range 1v1s has been a strength of his for many years & I have mentioned it in many of my previous tweets.

If you are interested in the statistically optimum strategy a GK can employ during a 1v1 situation see the thread below!
For the people asking why it worked for #DeGea but not #Henderson:

1. While the situations are very similar initially, & #Henderson does initially make a good & correct decision to wait, once #Salah takes the extra touch #Henderson needs to engage as you cannot wait forever!
2. #Salah is a very good striker & backed his touch to be good enough that it wouldn’t allowed #Henderson to close him down much so #Salah didn’t take the shot early while the Fulham striker took the shot early as more often than not that is what non-elite strikers will do.
This statistically derived diagram is a good rule of thumb for GKs if the striker is clear through 1v1 you should only engage (if you want to statistically maximise your chances of making the save) when they take a touch which takes them inside the grey region, otherwise wait!
For those saying it was a simple save & every #PremierLeague GK would easily make it:

That is only true if they made the initial decision to hold deep!

See my thread below about #Ederson, a top class PL GK, who regularly struggles to make the right decision in this situations!

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More from @Jhdharrison1

Apr 9, 2023
Has #Ederson turned a corner regarding his issues with long range 1v1s?

Yesterday he positioned himself perfectly inside his 6yrd box during this long range 1v1 thus allowing his defender to pressure the ball while maximising the finish difficulty for the striker!

#SOUMCI #MCFC





#Ederson highlighted how waiting deep is not a passive strategy!

As GKs should only wait deep until the CF gets close enough that the GK will not have enough reaction time to make a save, which is what #Ederson did as he rushed & smothered once the CF was within 14yrd of goal!
#Ederson has had huge problems with 1v1 situations like these in the past as he has rushed out too soon & found himself at the PK spot (rather than the 6yrd box) which gifts the opposition CF simpler finishes like chips & sidefoots while also not allowing his CBs to get back!
Read 5 tweets
Mar 1, 2023
#DeGea showing how to deal with a long range 1v1!

He initially stays deep & therefore doesn’t gift an easy chip/sidefoot finish by maximising his reaction time!

But once #Antonio takes the additional touch #DDG rushes out quickly & forms the block & snuffs out the shot!

#MUFC
If #DeGea had rushed out to engage this touch he would’ve turned a 38% goal probability chance into a 61% goal probability chance as MA could’ve easily rounded him or chipped him!

By waiting he dictated the 1v1 to MA & made him make a decision, MA chose to take another touch…
This is when #DeGea really nailed it!

Rather than continuing to stay deep #DeGea realised that now MA was close enough that his reaction time may not be enough to save the shot so he rushed & formed the premeditated block barrier reducing the goal probability to 34%!

#MUFC
Read 6 tweets
Feb 28, 2023
Despite #NUFC’s loss to #MUFC #Karius showed that he is more than capable of playing at the top level!

Our model at #GKxG found his shot stopping was worth 0.22 goals more to #Newcastle than if they had an average #PremierLeague GK in goal

Full article👇 goalkeeper.com/news-and-media… Image
#Karius made 8 saves vs #MUFC, but GKing is about quality not quantity!

5 of the saves had xSave>99% thus #PremierLeague GKs save them every time!

The 2 interesting & difficult saves were the 1v1 vs #Bruno & #Weghorst’s long range shot! Which beat #PL GKs 41% & 29% of the time! Image
It was these saves whose difficulty outweighed the 2 goals #Karius conceded meaning #Karius saved an above expected amount of shots in the #LeagueCupFinal

#Karius could do nothing with the #Casemiro goal (xSave probability<5%) but the #Rashford goal was a little more interesting Image
Read 5 tweets
Jan 3, 2023
#DeGea continues to be one of the best GKs vs long range 1v1s!

When #Anthony gets in #DeGea doesn’t rush out & gift an easy finish but holds deep & let’s his def recover & pressure the ball!

DDGs top decision making turned a 37% goal probability situation into a 16% one!

#MUFC
Gks, don’t always deal with these situations well & often panic & rush out allowing strikers to either chip it over them or curl it round them

Staying calm & letting your defenders pressure the ball & only rushing out once the striker is closer to goal is a vital skill to master
For those people saying it was a easy save:

#DeGea made the save look easy & made the save far easier for himself due to his top class decision to hold deep & then use his top hand. This made a difficult situation comfortable!

Great decision making makes hard saves easy!

#MUFC
Read 4 tweets
Sep 30, 2022
The #PremierLeague is back!

How has your team’s GK performed?

#Pickford’s class shot stopping & distribution puts him top 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

#Pope, #Henderson, & #Leno have had great starts at their new clubs🧤

Big mistakes have cost #DeGea & #Ramsdale 😱

#Ward has struggled in all areas 😞
The GK xG model shown above looks at every shot faced, pass received, cross faced & through ball faced & calculates the probability of a goal occurring for & against the GK’s team before the event & after the event occurs!

Thus it measures & evaluates every action a GKs makes!
This allows all GKs to be given a single number measured in goals called

“Total Value in Goals”

Which describes the GK’s value to their side vs having a league average GK & takes into account everything they do meaning GKs of vastly different styles can be fairly compared!
Read 7 tweets
Sep 30, 2022
Will #Potter make #Kepa his number 1?

Most accept #Mendy is the superior shot stopper & shot preventer so the argument is about distributing

We @goalkeeper_com find in recent games #Mendy has been the better passer while both GKs have been equally error prone on the ball!

#CFC ImageImageImageImage
When receiving the ball under pressure, both #Chelsea GKs have been below the #PremierLeague standard!

#Mendy has cost #CFC 0.52 xG more than the avg #PL GK would be expected to if they received the ball in the same situations (this is heavily influenced by his mistake vs Leeds) Image
Similarly #Kepa has cost #CFC 0.59 xG more than the avg #PL GK would be expected to if they received the ball in the same situations as he did in his last 15 #PremierLeague games, #Kepa’s numbers here are heavily influenced by his mistake vs #Liverpool which #Mane capitalised on! Image
Read 5 tweets

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