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The Premier League has been graced by many top goalkeepers over the years. Many of these custodians have played key roles in title-winning teams. Two such current goalkeepers are Liverpool's Alisson and Manchester City's Ederson.
While they are fine custodians in their own right, they are not among the top penalty savers in Premier League history. That's partly because both their teams have strong defenses that don't concede too many penalties in the first place.
That brings us to what it takes to save a penalty as the goalkeeper has the odds stacked against him to begin with. Considering the speed of the ball coming from 12 yards, the limits of human reaction time mean goalkeepers cannot wait to see the ball off the penalty taker's foot before choosing a direction to dive. But top goalkeepers do save a lot of penalties. How do they do so?
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Well, they stand their ground for as late as possible, winning the first mind-game against the penalty taker. Goalline antics can also distract the penalty-taker. But most goalkeepers know which way a penalty taker usually takes his penalty; so they dive (or do not) accordingly.
Penalties in any competition, including the Premier League, can be game-changing moments. But some goalkeepers in the competition have 'perfected' the art of saving penalties better than others. On that note, here's a look at the ten Premier League goalkeepers with the most penalty saves from open play:
Note: All stats are per premierleague.com unless mentioned otherwise.
#10 Brad Friedel - 6
Brad Friedel had a long and illustrious career in the Premier League, playing exactly 450 games in the competition for four different clubs.
The former American international saved six penalties in his nearly two-decade-long career. Friedel is one of a handful of goalscoring Premier League goalkeepers, and is also among a select few to have kept clean sheets in the first three decades of the competition.
He is one of three goalkeepers to save four penalties in a Premier League season (2006-07).
Friedel's last penalty save in the Premier League was off Dean Whitehead in 2007-08.
#9 Manuel Almunia - 6
Manuel Almunia enjoyed a relatively short but fairly decent stint in the Premier League with Arsenal in the 2000s and early 2010s.
The Spaniard played over 100 games in the competition and kept 44 clean sheets. Although he did not win the Premier League title with the club, Almunia made his name at the Emirates with his penalty-stopping exploits. He saved an impressive five of six penalties faced at the stadium.
Almunia saved multiple Premier League penalties in two different seasons. His last penalty save in the competition was off Chris Brunt in 2010-11.
#8 Jussi Jaaskelainen - 7
Jurri Jaaskelainen had a decent decade-and-a-half-long stint in the Premier League in the 2000s and early 2010s.
The Finnish shot-stopper made 436 appearances in the competition for two different clubs, keeping over 100 clean sheets. Most of his shutouts came during his decade-long spell at Bolton Wanderers.
Though he did not win a Premier League title, the tall Finn made a name for himself as a penalty-saver of repute.
Jaaskelainen saved penalties from the likes of Ruud van Nistelrooy and James Milner in the Premier League. His last save from the spot in the competition was off Ashley Young in 2010-11.
#7 Tim Howard - 7
Tim Howard is one of the most legendary non-English goalkeepers in the history of the Premier League.
The American played nearly 400 games in the competition for three different clubs, keeping 132 clean sheets. One of the best goalkeepers not to have won the Premier League, Howard was the epitome of consistency during his stint in the competition, especially with Everton.
Unsurprisingly, he saved a few penalties during his Premier League career too, saving three of them during the 2011-12 season.
Howard saved penalties from the likes of Dirk Kuyt, Sergio Aguero and Christian Benteke in the Premier League. His last save from the spot in the competition was off Daniel Sturridge in 2013-14.
#6 Joe Hart - 7
Joe Hart has had a fairly successful stint in the Premier League. The Englishman has made nearly 350 appearances in the competition for four different clubs.
Now at Celtic, the 34-year-old custodian won two Premier League titles, both with Manchester City. Hart also kept at least ten clean sheets in seven consecutive campaigns.
Unsurprisingly, five of his seven penalty saves in the competition came while playing for the Cityzens, all coming in as many different campaigns.
Hart has denied the likes of Frank Lampard and Wayne Rooney from the spot in the Premier League. His last Premier League stop was that of Paul Pogba in 2018-19 when he played for Burnley.
#5 Lukasz Fabianski - 7
Lukasz Fabianski is one of the few goalkeepers on this list who are still active in the Premier League.
The Polish international has made nearly 300 appearances in the competition for three different clubs, with most of them coming from Swansea City. Although he debuted in the Premier League in 2007-08 with Arsenal, it would be almost a decade later (2016-17) when he saved his first penalty in the competition.
Since then, the 36-year-old has saved six more penalties in the English top flight, more than any other goalkeeper during this period.
The West Ham custodian kept out two penalties in the Premier League last season.
#4 Simon Mignolet - 8
Simon Mignolet enjoyed a productive, nearly decade-long stint in the Premier League. He made close to 250 appearances in the competition for two different clubs, keeping 80 clean sheets, most of them with Liverpool.
It was with the Anfield club that the Belgian also made his reputation as a penalty-stopper of repute. Although he was not in the Liverpool team that won the 2019-20 Premier League, Mignolet has had a fairly successful spell in the competition.
Mignolet's saved his last penalty in the Premier League against Leicester City's Jamie Vardy in 2017-18, a game Liverpool won 3-2.
#3 Ben Foster - 8
Ben Foster was touted as the next big thing in the Premier League when he arrived at Manchester United in 2007-08.
A decade and a half later, it can be safely surmised that Foster has largely failed to live up to that hype. Nevertheless, the Watford goalkeeper has had a fairly decent Premier League stint, keeping 83 clean sheets in 369 appearances for four different clubs.
Not to mention, Foster has also carved a reputation as a decent penalty-saver. Most of his penalty saves in the Premier League came during his stint with West Bromwich Albion.
The 38-year-old's last penalty save in the Premier League came against Manchester City's Raheem Sterling in the 2019-20 season.
#2 Robert Green - 9
Robert Green had a middling Premier League career at best. He made over 250 appearances in the competition for four different clubs and kept 53 clean sheets.
Green, though, is one of the most successful penalty-stoppers in the history of the English top flight. He is one of just two goalkeepers to save nine penalties in the Premier League.
The 41-year-old has denied the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Alexis Sanchez and Steven Gerrard (twice) from the spot in the Premier League. In fact, his last penalty save in the competition was off Gerard in 2014-15, when he was playing for Queens Park Rangers.
#1 Heurelho Gomes - 9
Heurelho Gomes made nearly 200 appearances in the Premier League for two different clubs, spread almost equally between Tottenham Hotspur and Watford.
The Brazilian, who has kept over 50 Premier League clean sheets, is one of only two custodians in league history to keep out nine penalties. Gomes, in fact, is the first goalkeeper in the Premier League to save multiple penalties in at least two games.
He did so for Spurs against Sunderland in 2009-10, before repeating the feat with Watford against West Bromwich Albion in 2015-16. On both occasions, he denied the same penalty-taker twice - Darren Bent (Sunderland) and Saido Berahino (West Bromwich Albion).
In fact, Gomes has denied Bent thrice from the spot in the Premier League. The Brazilian's last penalty save in the competition came against Crystal Palace's Christian Benteke in the 2015-16 season.
