“He wins more games for his team than he loses” – Garth Crooks makes interesting claim on Manchester City star ‘capable of making the odd mistake’
BBC Sport pundit Garth Crooks has hailed Manchester City star Ederson for his performance against Leicester City but claimed that the goalkeeper is prone to an odd error.
Manchester City faced Leicester in their 12th Premier League match of the season on Saturday (October 29). They notably went to the King Power Stadium without Erling Haaland, who suffered an injury during their UEFA Champions League draw against Borussia Dortmund.
The Cityzens, though, managed to earn all three points, courtesy of a splendid free-kick goal from Kevin de Bruyne. They have thus reacted to their loss to Liverpool with back-to-back wins in the league.
While Leicester were happy to sit back and defend for most of the game, they tested Manchester City's defense on a few occasions. They had five shots on target on the afternoon, but could not find a way past Ederson.
Ederson's performance saw him earn a place in Crooks' team of the week on BBC Sport. Reacting to the Brazilian's display, the former Tottenham Hotspur forward claimed that several goalkeepers today are 'very average'. He wrote:
"I will declare before I go any further that there are many goalkeepers in the modern era who I think are very average. It might have something to do with the fact that I grew up in the era of Gordon Banks, Pat Jennings, Peter Shilton, Ray Clemence, Joe Corrigan, Phil Parkes; I could go on."
In an attempt to drive his point home, Crooks explained that modern goalkeepers tend to punch the ball away instead of catching it. The Englishman, though, feels Ederson, as well as Liverpool's Alisson and Manchester United's David de Gea, are exceptions. He added:
"Most modern-day goalkeepers punch the ball when they should be catching it and try to catch it when they should be punching it. Ederson, Alisson and David de Gea are the exceptions."
However, Crooks believes Ederson is susceptible to errors every once in a while, but pointed out that he wins more games for Manchester City than he loses. He wrote:
"Ederson, like all goalkeepers, is capable of making the odd mistake or having a poor performance but he wins more games for his team than he loses. His save from Leicester's Youri Tielemans on Saturday was another classic example."
How has Ederson fared for Manchester City?
Manchester City signed Ederson from Portuguese outfit Benfica for around £35 million in 2017. The goalkeeper has since been a key player for the Premier League giants.
The Brazil international has made 258 appearances across all competitions for the Cityzens, keeping 129 clean sheets in the process. He has also helped the club win 11 trophies, including four league titles.