Manchester United crashed out of the FA Cup yesterday with goalkeeper David de Gea at least partially responsible for the three goals that Chelsea scored.
There have been a number of errors from De Gea leading up to this game but up until now, manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has defended the Spaniard, insisting he remains the best goalkeeper in the world.
However, the statistics show otherwise, in fact, they show that De Gea is not even the best goalkeeper at the club, let alone the world.
First of all, there is a basic figure of mistakes leading directly to a goal. Yesterday’s second goal is expected to be notched up by the statisticians as De Gea’s fourth this season and eighth over the past two seasons – the worst record in the Premier League.
Back in February The Peoples Person reported that United’s Dean Henderson, on loan at Sheffield United, was outperforming the Spaniard on virtually every meaningful goalkeeping statistic – clean sheets, save percentage, catches and sweeps included.
Football statistician @StatManCam has plotted a graph of De Gea’s decline since 2017-18 based on saves per expected goal difference, and it is marked. The 29-year-old has plummeted from over 12 saves more than expected to just 0.2.
???? DE GEA’S DECLINE
???? In 2017-18, David De Gea was the best goalkeeper in the world. The difference between the xG based on the shots he faced, and the total goals he conceded was a MASSIVE 12.4.
???? This has massively declined since – see graph below. #mufc #degea #MUNCHE pic.twitter.com/G92cruTqbY
— Stat Man Cam (@StatManCam) July 19, 2020
The same statistician also notes that De Gea is one of the worst in the Premier League at sweeping and claiming crosses.
???? Maguire is slow (main flaw) – this can be mitigated by having a sweeper GK covering space in behind.
???? Lindelof is weak aerially – can be mitigated by a GK coming off their line and claiming crosses.
De Gea ranks amongst the worst in both aspects – see below. pic.twitter.com/KRa8Q8MfiU
— Stat Man Cam (@StatManCam) July 19, 2020
De Gea has also failed to save any penalty in any competition since 2016/17, whilst Henderson has saved more than he has conceded since 2017/18, a phenomenal record.
Statistics never tell the whole story, but nobody can ignore such clear data as these and after yesterday’s horror show, the elephant in the room that is David de Gea’s future must finally, surely, be addressed.
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