In the final weeks of the Premier League season, the importance of the goalkeeper in the title race has become very evident.
In February alone, Gianluigi Donnarumma scored a vital goal at Anfield, giving Manchester City two extra points at Anfield, only to see David Raya drop two for Arsenal a few days later against Wolves.
“They’ve given us the title race we’re in now,” said Carragher. “This shows how important the role is now. How important the goalkeeper is in the title race.”
This importance is not new. Ten years ago, John Terry spoke about the importance of Petr Cech winning an extra 12-15 points a season for the Chelsea team. And while discussing the subject with Edwin van der Sar on Monday Night Football, Carragher believes that remains the case.
“The goalkeeper is almost the most important thing in terms of winning titles,” said the Sky Sports pundit.
Top goalkeepers can have a big impact on title chances
“I don’t think you can win a title without a top goalkeeper, but it’s possible to win a title without top-level players in every other position.”
Manchester United’s Premier League-winning goalkeeper Van der Sar also supported the idea. “You can’t win without it,” he said. “No matter how good the players are, you need competent players between the sticks to win games.
“Both City and Arsenal have very good goalkeepers, but they have different styles.”
So who is in the best position, Donnarumma or Raya, to bring the title to their respective teams? Let’s look at the statistics…
Bigger is better – Donnarumma’s shot-stopping skills
When Pep Guardiola signed Donnarumma to Man City in the summer, there was a phrase that stuck with me.
“He’s so tall, so huge,” the City manager said. And that’s proven to come in handy on a number of occasions this season.
Donnarumma’s outstanding save at Anfield was one of many moments in which the Italian showed his elite shot-stopping ability, and his size has a lot to do with it.
“It was an unbelievable save,” Van der Sar said in an interview with Sky Sports. “We won’t know if this is a title-winning save until the final game of the season in May, but it’s not even a fingertip save.
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Highlights of the Premier League match between Liverpool and Manchester City.
“He’s a big guy. He has a huge reach. It helps in that regard. A goalie who is bigger has a little bit of an advantage.”
Thanks to his large size, Donnarumma has been able to record the second-best save percentage in the Premier League this season. He has also saved almost three goals in xG this season, and only five Premier League goalkeepers have a better record than the City player.
When compared to Donnarumma on these two stats, Raya doesn’t compete. His save percentage is just 66%, but he has an xG of nearly 2.5 this season, and only four top-flight goalkeepers have a worse record this season.
Shot-stopping stats favor Donnarumma
Still, Raya still made some outstanding saves this season. In December, he earned two points with a superb save against Brighton at home, while a clear off the line played a key role in Arsenal’s win against Tottenham last weekend.
Raya is five inches shorter than Donnarumma, but she makes up for it with the springiness in her legs. It was drilled into him by then goalkeeping coach Stephen Drench during his time at Blackburn Rovers.
Speaking to Sky Sports in 2023, Dorench said: “The thing about David is he’s not your average 6ft 4in, 6ft 5in goalkeeper and he’s fought against that stereotype.”
“If you look at some of his saves now, he’s saving the ball two or three yards past the post because he’s quick. He’s agile and strong, so when he takes that step he covers more of the goal. He makes difficult saves look very, very easy.”
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Paul Merson reacts to David Raya’s superb save as the Spaniard denied John McGinn from close range against Aston Villa.
“And if you ever meet him, he’s got hands like shovels and they’re huge.”
Van der Sar supports that theory. “Fabian Barthez was a slightly different goalkeeper to Jordan Pickford. You need good reactions and good jumps,” he said.
So, these two goalkeepers make top quality saves, but their shot-stopping styles are different.
But is Raya better at everything else?
Goalkeeper.com’s stats seem to favor Raya.
Donnarumma is the clear winner in terms of shot-stopping, which Van der Sar feels is crucial for a title-winning team.
“The goalkeeper is there to save shots,” the Dutchman said. “Stopping the ball going into the net. If you can call for a cross and try to distribute it, great, but it’s about stopping shots.”
But if you look at the statistics from goalkeeping experts Goalkeeper.Com, you’ll see that many of the other important metrics when analyzing goalkeepers favor Raya.
According to Goalkeeper Performance Metrics, Raya is in the top five of Premier League goalkeepers in winning crosses, through passes and passing passes. In the latter case, Donnarumma is in the bottom five.
“The way the game is played now has changed. If a goalie uses his feet well, that’s one of the first checkpoints coaches look for,” said Raya’s former goalkeeping coach in Drench.
“Can they make saves? Can they collect crosses? Are they good with their feet? He’s like an extra outfielder.”
The other is Sweeper Keep, which measures how quickly a goalie gets off the line to stop an attack. Carragher cited another Spanish goalkeeper, Pepe Reina, to explain how “rushing goalkeepers” can be useful.
David Raya is the Premier League’s keeper sweeper king
“It’s reading the game, but it’s also pace,” he said. “Going back to Pepe Reina when he joined Liverpool, I remember Rafa Benitez describing him as ‘fast’. I’ve never heard anyone describe a goalkeeper that way.”
“It was always about shot stopping. Now it’s all about the details and it’s on a whole different level now. That was 20 years ago.”
Van der Sar was also famous for his goals and appearances from sweeper keep. “That was one of the things I really liked: getting out of the box and making sure to collect the ball before the striker gets there,” he said.
“How far is it? That’s something to discuss with the manager and the goalie coach. That’s what a goalie needs to do.”
“It’s a change from goalkeepers just making saves to distributing, trying to hold onto the ball and playing outside the box. It’s a big change from 15 years ago.
“With the pressure and what they have to do now, they’re really becoming like No. 11 outfield players.”
What about errors that lead to goals?
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Edsi scored the equalizer in the 90+4th minute against Arsenal in the Premier League.
But, as Van der Sar says, goalkeepers are now under pressure to score. And sometimes the pressure is too much.
There were indications that Raya’s tact during his appearance could cause problems for Arsenal. In the match against Wolves, he jumped in front of the goal and delivered a cross, which led to two goals being conceded.
A similar moment occurred against Sunderland in November, when Brian Brobbey beat Raya and converted the ball that missed the goal into an empty net.
“It’s all about communication. We can’t afford too much of this during the season,” Van der Sar said.
“In the run-up to the league title, it’s important to show that the goals are of quality. To get there, it’s important to convince everyone that there are no goals.”
The mistake against Wolves was Arsenal’s fourth mistake leading to a goal in 2026. Only Tottenham have made more mistakes since the start of the year.
And the only team without one? Manchester City.
Will Donnarumma’s experience matter?
Experience helps limit the amount of errors. And Donnarumma certainly has that.
Donnarumma won the Champions League with PSG a few months before joining Man City
He had led Paris Saint-Germain to the Champions League title a few months earlier and joined City in the summer with an extensive list of honors. He has also won four French league titles and five French domestic cups.
In addition to that, he played a key role in leading Italy to the Euro 2020 title, winning on two penalties in the semi-finals and final against England.
Three years later, Raya won the same tournament with Spain, even though he was a reserve goalkeeper. His only other honors are the 2021 Championship play-off final win at Brentford and two Premier League Golden Gloves on an individual basis.
“I would take Donnarumma in this title fight,” Carragher said when asked whether he would choose between Raya and Raya. “It’s just that he was there in those high-pressure moments. That’s the level he’s been playing at. Raya hasn’t had that honor yet.
“I love Raya, I think he’s a really good player, but for the average soccer fan, when you think of a goalkeeper making a save to win the league, that’s all you care about.
“If Man City win the league, everyone will remember that save he made at Anfield. And maybe we can get more from both goalkeepers.”
However, Van der Sar offered an interesting theory that Raya has more experience in the Premier League. These are the words from a player who, like Raya, moved from west London to a title-challenging side in the early 2000s.
“David comes from the Premier League and played for Brentford for a while,” Van der Sar said. “I played four years at Fulham and then six years at United.
“I grew up with the way the English game is played. David knows what the Premier League is about.”
Raya and Donnarumma met at this stage last season when Arsenal faced PSG in the Champions League semi-finals.
The current City goalkeeper proved to be the key difference in both games. Will he be able to make a difference again in the title race?
