Using FBREF’s PSxG minus goals allowed metric, Football365 have deduced that Guglielmo Vicario has been by far the best goalkeeper across the Premier League this season.
Vicario has had an outstanding first season in the Premier League, having quickly become a fan favourite among the Tottenham faithful and establishing himself as one of the leaders of the Spurs side.
However, over the last few weeks, the Spurs number one has come in for some criticism for his handling of corners and free-kicks (TNT Sports 1 – 03/02/24 via Daily Mail).
Some Tottenham fans would feel that the criticism has not been warranted and that the 27-year-old has not been sufficiently protected by the referees.
Whatever one thinks about his ability to claim crosses, one cannot question Vicario’s shot-stopping ability, with the Italian saving Ange Postecoglou’s men on plenty of occasions this season.
Is Vicario the best in the Premier League?
Football365 have revealed that the Tottenham man is the best in the entire division based on the PSxG minus goals metric.
The metric takes the number of expected goals a goalkeeper should concede based on how likely a shot is to be saved and subtracts it from the total goals conceded by the goalkeeper.
According to the data, Vicario has conceded 6.3 fewer goals over the course of the campaign than he should have, comfortably finishing above Emiliano Martínez in second place (4.9 fewer goals) and Jose Sa in third place (4.6 fewer goals).
Spurs Web Opinion
I am personally not a fan of using xG when assessing goalkeeper performances as the position of the shot (when taken alone) does not paint an accurate picture of how hard a save is. However, there can be no doubt that Vicario is one of the best shot-stoppers in the Premier League, if not the best.