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The 2020/21 La Liga season was arguably the most exciting one we've had in a long time. It is quite unfortunate that the fans weren't able to witness it. Atletico Madrid were able to beat Real Madrid and Barcelona in the title race and they have now been crowned La Liga champions. It is their first Spanish top-flight title since the 2013-14 season.
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Real Madrid, Barcelona and even Sevilla gave them a run for their money as far as the title race was concerned. But the Rojiblancos had just enough steam to cross the finish line, win the title and upset the trend in La Liga.
La Liga has some world-class goalkeepers
It is interesting to note that once again it is the team with the strongest defence that has won the league. While defenders have played a major role this season, the contributions of goalkeepers cannot be overlooked.
Without further ado, let's take a look at the top five goalkeepers from the 2020/21 La Liga season.
#5 Alex Remiro (Real Sociedad)
After a slightly inconsistent outing in the 2019/20 season, Real Sociedad's Alex Remiro has become the club's first-choice goalkeeper. He has been one of the architects behind Sociedad's early surge in La Liga this term. Remiro conceded only 38 goals from 38 appearances this term.
Six of those came in a single game against Barcelona and that has definitely gone a long way towards ruining his numbers. He has saved 65% of the shots he faced in the La Liga this season and made a total of 66 saves. The Spaniard has kept 14 cleansheets this term.
Remiro also saved one of the five penalties he faced this season. The 26-year-old has room for improvement though. While he is good with the ball at his feet and helps kickstart Sociedad's attacks with his impressive distribution, Remiro ought to be more commanding in his box and improve his shot-parrying ability.
#4 Marc-Andre ter Stegen (Barcelona)
Barcelona have not had a great season given their high standards. But in light of the circumstances, they did a pretty decent job and the majority of the credit for that goes to Lionel Messi and Marc-Andre ter Stegen.
Ter Stegen missed quite a few games this season after suffering a knee injury in December. He still made 32 appearances in the La Liga and kept 11 cleansheets. Due to the high-profile nature of his job, his mistakes often tend to get amplified and constant comparisons with Manuel Neuer has certainly taken the focus away from his world-class abilities.
The German international kept 11 cleansheets this term. He made a total of 75 saves, keeping out 71% of the shots that came his way. Ter Stegen was not great at penalties though and has conceded all three of the spot-kicks he had to face.
#3 Yassine Bounou (Sevilla)
Yassine Bounou was Sevilla's second-choice goalkeeper last season. He was on loan from Girona and first turned heads when he turned in an excellent performance against Manchester United in the second leg of their 2019-20 UEFA Europa League semi-final. He was just as impressive in the quarter-finals against Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Sevilla rewarded him with a four-year contract at the start of the 2020/21 season and he has repaid the faith shown by the Andalusians by being an extremely reliable presence between the sticks. He kept 15 cleansheets in 33 appearances and made 78 saves, keeping out 76% of the shots he faced.
He also saved two out of six penalties and has now become Sevilla's first-choice goalkeeper.
#2 Thibaut Courtois (Real Madrid)
Thibaut Courtois has been one of Real Madrid's best players this season. In fact, he was the only player who could come away from their Champions League semi-final loss against Chelsea satisfied with his performance.
Courtois, who has been a formidable presence behind his defence, has improved immensely this season and was able to produce some spectacular performances this term.
Courtois kept 17 cleansheets from 38 La Liga appearances. The Belgian international has the best save percentage among all the goalkeepers in La Liga. He made 90 saves, keeping out 81% of all the shots he faced this campaign. He also saved two of the nine penalties Real Madrid conceded in the league.
In a season where Real Madrid have had to navigate a lot in the absence of their main centre-backs, Courtois bailed his side out time and again. It's safe to say that he was crucial to Zinedine Zidane's men keeping their title hopes alive until the very last day of the season.
#1 Jan Oblak (Atletico Madrid)
Arguably the best goalkeeper in the world, Jan Oblak has been an absolute force between the sticks for La Liga champions Atletico Madrid. Oblak is one of the most complete goalkeepers we have seen in recent times.
His shot-stopping, distribution and command over the box are all exceptional and he hardly ever puts a foot wrong. His status as the best goalkeeper in the league has been cemented for a long time now. Diego Simeone's vision in bringing him on a €16 million deal to replace Courtois in 2014 feels like a masterstroke now.
The 28-year-old has won his fifth Ricardo Zamora trophy, which is awarded to the goalkeeper with the best goal-to-game ratio in La Liga. Oblak conceded just 25 goals in 38 games in the 2020-21 season. He also kept 18 cleansheets, which is also the highest in the league.
Oblak made 97 saves, keeping out 80% of the shots he faced. He also saved two of the four penalties Atletico Madrid conceded. He only let in one as the other one was a miss and needed no saving. The Slovenian international has kept his levels up for seven years now and is certain to go down in history as one of the best goalkeepers of the modern era.
(All stats courtesy: Fbref)
