Ranking the 10 best goalkeepers in 2020
It is often said that a goalkeeper is the last line of a team's defence, an adage that proved its worth in a COVID-19-ravaged year like 2020 too.
More and more teams have been investing in world-class goalkeepers in recent times, reaping rich dividends in the process.
Alisson Becker has been a key player in Liverpool's Champions League and Premier League successes; Thibaut Courtois has come into his own at Real Madrid after a difficult first season at the club; Keylor Navas has helped Paris Saint Germain continue their domestic dominance and make their mark in Europe, and so on.
On that note, let us have a look at the top ten goalkeepers in 2020.
Top 10 goalkeepers in 2020
A top goalkeeper is worth its weight in gold for teams aspiring to win league titles and triumph in Europe. Recent cases in point are Bayern Munich's Manuel Neuer, Real Madrid's Thibaut Courtois and more recently Atletico Madrid's Jan Oblak.
So, without further ado, let us have a look at which of these goalkeepers have impressed the most this year.
#10 Yann Sommer (Borussia Monchengladbach /Switzerland)
Yann Sommer has been a key performer for Borussia Monchengladbach since arriving from Basel in the summer of 2014.
In 267 games in all competitions for the Bundesliga club, Sommer has kept 73 clean sheets, with the 32-year-old particularly impressing in the Champions League this campaign.
Sommer may have kept only one clean sheet in 12 Bundesliga games this season, but impressed in the Nations League with Switzerland, denying Spain captain Sergio Ramos twice from the spot.
#9 Peter Gulacsi (RB Leipzig/Hungary)
Peter Gulacsi has been at the forefront of RB Leipzig's rise in the Bundesliga and in Europe in recent times.
The 30-year-old goalkeeper has been an assured presence for Leipzig, especially in the league since the 2018-19 season, keeping a Bundesliga-high 21 clean sheets (as on February 2020).
Gulacsi's exploits helped Leipzig finish a creditable third in the Bundesliga last season, with the Hungarian goalkeeper also helping his club to their maiden Champions League semi-final. In the process, Gulacsi also became the first goalkeeper to provide a direct assist in the 2019-20 German top-flight campaign.
This season as well, the Leipzig goalkeeper has continued his impressive form, keeping a creditable six clean sheets in 13 Bundeliga games. Gulacsi has also had two shutouts in as many games in the 2020-21 DFB Pokal.
#8 Ederson (Manchester City/Brazil)
Ederson has been a standout player in Pep Guardiola's Mancheser City since his arrival from Benfica in the summer of 2017.
The Brazilian goalkeeper kept an impressive 37 cumulative clean sheets to help City win consecutive Premier League titles. Although Ederson was impressive yet again in the 2019-20 edition of the competition, keeping 20 clean sheets, Liverpool denied City a three-peat.
Despite City's indifferent start to the 2020-21 season, the 27-year-old has already kept seven clean sheets in 14 Premier League games and has conceded just once in five matches in the Champions League.
#7 Samir Handanovic (Inter Milan/Slovenia)
Samir Handanovic has been a stellar performer for Inter Milan for close to a decade. He is arguably one of the best goalkeepers not to have won a Scudetto.
Despite being 36 years old, the Slovenian international has brought his experience to the fore, helping the Nerazzurri to a creditable second-place finish in the Serie A last season.
Handanovic has kept only three clean sheets in the league in 2020-21, producing a few uncharacteristic errors. Nevertheless, his form could be crucial for Inter winning their first Serie A title in over a decade.