Three early contenders for the Golden Glove in the Premier League
While the Premier League has already produced some scintillating displays of attacking football so far, some of the goalkeepers have been at the top of their games and have been key figures for their respective teams at the back. Right from the early days, the goalkeepers have been the unsung heroes of the game and it has been no different this season.
The Golden Glove award was introduced for the first time in the Premier League in the 2004/05 season when Petr Cech won it. Till date, no goalkeeper outside Manchester United, Manchester City, Arsenal and Chelsea have won the award. Joe Hart and Petr Cech have both won the award on four occasions.
Here are three contenders for the award based on their performances so far.
1. Alisson Becker (Liverpool)
The Brazilian broke the club record signing for a goalkeeper when Liverpool splashed £66.9 million to sign him from Roma in the summer.
And he has solved Liverpool’s goalkeeping dilemma of the previous season, starting each of Liverpool’s first seven games and has kept 4 clean sheets so far in the process.
He has established himself as a reliable presence between the sticks and has made some amazing saves to keep his team in the ascendancy. The Brazilian has made a total of 16 saves so far, eight out of which have come from inside the penalty area. The highlight of his performances so far came against Chelsea where he saved Liverpool on multiple occasions, often from close range as well.
He had only one major slip-up which led to a goal against Leicester City but regardless, Alisson should be a strong contender if he avoids those obvious howlers in the coming days.
2. Rui Patricio (Wolves)
The veteran Portuguese signed as a free agent for newly-promoted Wolverhampton Wanderers in the summer and has proven his worth between the sticks. He took some time to adapt to the Premier League but caught the eye with some smart shot-stopping against Manchester City, helping his team to a 1-1 draw.
The 30-year-old has already kept four clean sheets and has established himself as a powerful force between the sticks with some flying saves. He has made a total of 29 saves so far, 13 of which have come from inside the penalty area, including 3 from inside the six-yard box.
He hasn’t made any obvious errors that have lead to a goal and he might be a strong contender if he continues his impressive run of form.
3. Ederson Moraes (Manchester City)
He came tantalizingly close to winning the award last year but lost out to Manchester United’s David De Gea by a thin margin. City have one of the best defensive records in the Premier League so far as evident from Ederson’s statistics. The Brazilian has had to make only 11 saves so far and none of them has come from inside the six-yard box.
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The 25-year-old has registered four clean sheets, the first of which came on opening day against Arsenal. He had to remain patient for his next clean sheet as Newcastle, Huddersfield and Wolves all chipped in with goals. However, he has amassed three back-to-back clean sheets against Fulham, Cardiff City and Brighton.
He hasn’t made any mistakes which have led to goals and he has an assist to his name as well, which could do a world of good to his chances of winning the award.
