5 best goalkeepers in Serie A this year (2021)
Serie A has been an interesting league, especially in the last few years. From Cristiano Ronaldo’s arrival and subsequent departure, to Inter Milan ending Juventus’ near decade-long dominance, the Italian top flight has never been short of excitement.
Serie A has been home to many world-class goalkeepers and defenders
One of the noticeable aspects of Italian football is their plethora of world-class defenders and goalkeepers. Paolo Maldini, Franco Baresi and Dino Zoff are some of the yesteryear superstars who reigned supreme in the defensive third.
It’s no coincidence that Italy have produced world class goalkeepers for generations. Donnarumma, Buffon, Zenga & Dino Zoff to name a few. Their philosophy is kids play in smaller goals so they make plenty of saves gain confidence & enjoy the position. Food for thought .!! https://t.co/iop3T5P6yf
More recently, centre-backs Giorgio Chiellini and Leonardo Bonucci have taken the limelight. World-class goalkeepers like Alisson Becker, Gianluigi Buffon and Samir Handanovic have also flourished in Serie A.
The UEFA Euro 2020 Player of the Tournament, Gianluigi Donnarumma, is another shot-stopper who made a name for himself in Serie A. Although he left for PSG this summer, he still ranks among the best Serie A goalkeepers in 2021.
On that note, let's find out who else makes the list of top five goalkeepers in the Italian top flight this year:
#5 Emil Audero
Emil Audero plies his trade for Serie A club Sampdoria. The 24-year-old may not have as many clean sheets as a few others in the Italian league. However, he merits a mention on this list due to the sheer amount of saves he makes.
Audero made 117 saves last season, the third-most in the league. The goalkeeper was one of the main reasons Sampdoria finished in the top half of the league table. He also saved a couple of penalties, which is always considered gold dust.
Throwback to this incredible Emil Audero save for @sampdoria_en 🧤
How highly do you rate the young shot-stopper? 🙌 https://t.co/JeH0EdFwxl
The Juventus youth academy graduate has already made over 50 saves this season. Without his efforts, Sampdoria would have been in the relegation zone. In the last few campaigns, his save percentage has been impressively in the high 60s.
#4 Wojciech Szczęsny
Juventus No.1 Wojciech Szczęsny had a rather forgettable 2020-21 Serie A campaign. The Polish international kept only five clean sheets, but that was also down to a leaky defence failing to effectively shield the goalkeeper.
Despite keeping just one clean sheet every six games last season, he had an impressive save percentage of 70.5. Moreover, the Pole also saved two penalties. Szczesny has already kept seven league clean sheets this term.
Wojciech Szczesny appreciation tweet. The most underrated GK in football right now. 🔥 @13Szczesny13 https://t.co/tePcXnT4b8
The former Arsenal goalkeeper has let in just 13 goals this Serie A campaign. His save percentage has marginally improved to 72.7%. He has faced two penalty kicks in Serie A this season, saving one of them.