Claudio Bravo English Nightmare

Manchester City were the third team to lose 4-0 in the Premier League this weekend but the result was particularly embarrassing for Claudio Bravo. While Swansea City goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski made four saves and was unfortunate to be beaten by two deflected goals against Arsenal and Ben Foster made a commendable eight saves at White Hart Lane against an utterly dominant Tottenham team, Bravo failed to produce a single stop against Everton. He faced four shots on target and conceded four goals. It was yet another afternoon to forget for a goalkeeper who has had enough time to adjust to the Premier League but has simply failed to do so.

 

Guardiola has stood by his No1 this season but Bravo’s struggles have clearly left City at a disadvantage. The other keepers in the top six clubs all boast above average save success rates, with Cech top of the elite this season with 74%. Bravo is not City’s only problem but if they had a keeper of Cech’s quality – whose save success has only dropped below 72% once in the last eight seasons – the current 10-point gap between City and Chelsea would be significantly smaller. Conceding four goals without making a save was humiliating but at least Bravo can take comfort from the fact that his issues are systematic of a league-wide dip in save success.