[Sports] Jose Sa - Can Wolves be in Safe hands with the Leading Shot-stopper
Two of the best-performing Premier League goalkeepers of the season will go head-to-head at Old Trafford on this Monday.
While Manchester United's David De Gea is known for making stunning saves, having spent over a decade in England, Wolves’ No 1 Jose Sa has flown under the radar outside of Molineux.
Sa is both a dominant presence inside his box and terrific at coming out of his area to sweep up behind his defence.
But it is his outstanding shot-stopping ability which stands out.
The Portuguese has been a revelation between the sticks for Bruno Lage’s side, repelling strikers brilliantly in his debut Premier League campaign.
Goalkeeper comparison 21/22
| PlayerMins | playedGoals | concededxGOT | ConcededGoals | prevented |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aaron Ramsdale | 1440 | 12 | 17.2 | 5.2 |
| Jose Sa | 1620 | 10 | 14.5 | 4.5 |
| Edouard Mendy | 1710 | 9 | 12.2 | 3.2 |
| David De Gea | 1620 | 23 | 24.8 | 1.8 |
| Robert Sanchez | 1529 | 14 | 15.6 | 1.6 |
Sa has been the sixth-busiest goalkeeper this term, making a total of 57 saves.
Only Leeds United’s Ilian Meslier, Kasper Schmeichel of Leicester City and De Gea have been forced to make more stops, with 65, 62 and 62 respectively.
Statistically, Sa has prevented the most Expected Goals (xG) according to Opta, keeping out an additional 4.5 goals that Wolves should have conceded.
Arsenal’s Aaron Ramsdale is the only keeper ahead of him with +5.2 goals on the same metric.
Sa has made an assortment of different types of saves but as reflected in the graphic below, he is especially strong at getting down quickly to make low stops.
Many of his most eye-catching saves have also been from sharp dives to his right-hand-side.
Save percentage compared 2021/22*| 2021/22 | Save % | Player | Saves inside box % |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sa | 80.3 | Sa | 78.2 |
| Ramsdale | 79.1 | Mendy | 72.8 |
| Mendy | 78.6 | Alisson | 71.1 |
*Minimum five starts
Sa boasts the best save percentage of any first-team regular but what is most impressive is the way he reacts to efforts on goal from close range.
Boasting sharp reflexes, his 78.18 per cent save percentage from shots inside the box is by some distance the most impressive record.
He makes the difficult saves more consistently than anyone else.
When you also consider Sa has made the fourth-most catches (20) and is also level with Liverpool’s Alisson for the highest number of keeper sweepings (14) it is clear that Lage signed a very accomplished all-round stopper.
Wolves and Man Utd both have No 1 goalkeepers who are right on top of their game at the moment.
Reference:
www.premierleague.com