(Manchester United News)
For many, the tag of the Barclays Premier League's best goalkeeper can be attributed to David De Gea or Thibaut Courtois, men who will be on opposing sides when Manchester United face Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Saturday.
De Gea, last year's Player of the Year at Old Trafford, has been outstanding for Louis van Gaal all season but credit is also due to Chelsea's Courtois for a successful first year in England after being stationed at Atletico Madrid, where he replaced the Reds' no.1 for three campaigns from 2011.
Enlisting the help of Opta
to judge the two men, it appears United's Spain international just has the edge over his Belgian rival. Both stoppers were excellent during the 1-1 draw between the clubs last October but, while Courtois was named Man of the Match on that occasion, De Gea shades many of the overall statistical breakdowns.
The United star has played every single minute this term, making 32 appearances in the league and five more than Courtois. Hence, it's perhaps somewhat inevitable that he has conceded more goals (30 compared to 26) and kept more clean sheets (10 to nine) than the latter. A fairer guide is that De Gea is beaten every 96 minutes on average, five more than the Chelsea custodian's figure of 91.
De Gea also makes more stops per game, although only by the smallest of margins (2.5 to 2.4), and has a better saves-to-shots ratio (73% to 71%). The fact he has been equal to some 52 shots from inside the box (Courtois has made 36 from the same distance) seems to confirm the opinion that the 24-year-old is particularly effective in one-on-one duels and displaying his razor-sharp reflexes with his feet and hands.
One area where Courtois comes out on top is the amount of crosses he has claimed, making a noteworthy 61 catches (De Gea has made 23). When you consider that the United ever-present has not dropped any of these catches, and produced five punches to his opposite number's nine, the conclusion is either the Blues goalie is more commanding when coming off his line or, perhaps, the league leaders simply have to defend more balls into the box. Either way, let's hope that zero figure of dropped catches can be carried through until the end of the season, because it would reflect the flawless nature of the Old Trafford favourite's work.
When it comes to distribution, De Gea has made 231 long kicks to Courtois' 195 and enjoys a better success rate in this field, suggesting he is continuing to improve under coach Frans Hoek's tuition when it comes to making accurate clearances. Arguably more adept with the ball at his feet than the 6ft 6in giant, the United ace has been more involved in general play this term than in any of his previous years at the club.
De Gea has been nominated for two PFA Player of the Year awards and, despite expecting accusations of bias, we feel the statistics back David as the keeper to replace Petr Cech, Chelsea's number two, in the top line-up for 2014/15. Special mentions are warranted for Lukasz Fabianski of Swansea City (the best saves-to-shot ratio), Southampton's sidelined Fraser Forster (most clean sheets) and QPR's first-choice Robert Green (most saves) but, for our money, David De Gea is simply the best goalkeeper in the Premier League.
