The 9 Best Penalty Savers in Premier League History - Ranked

Tim Krul stole the headlines once again on Wednesday as his penalty heroics fired Norwich City through to the next round of the FA Cup at Tottenham Hotspur's expense.

The Dutchman has a fantastic reputation for performing in penalty shoot-outs, but if you look at his stats (via ​Transfermarkt), you'll see that his save ratio of 17.2% isn't actually that good. However, there are some goalkeepers with seriously intimidating numbers. 

With those stats in mind, here are the nine goalkeepers (who have faced at least ten penalties) with the highest save ratio in Premier League history.


9. Adrián - 27.8%

Adrian

If all you've seen of Adrián was his blunder against ​Chelsea on Tuesday, then this might come as a surprise to you, but the ​Liverpool man is actually a good goalkeeper. Promise.

Across his time with both ​West Ham United and Liverpool, Adrián has faced 18 penalties in his career and saved five of them, earning himself a more than respectable ratio of 27.8%.

We all saw that error against Chelsea though. There's no hiding behind an impressive percentage for that one.​


8. Ali Al-Habsi - 28.6%

Ali Al Habsi

Ali Al-Habsi has been away from the ​Premier League since 2013, but before he left, he made sure he managed a save percentage of 28.6%.

He got that by saving six of the 21 penalties he faced with both Bolton Wanderers and Wigan Athletic, and he might even get the chance to add to that soon as he's currently on the books at promotion-hopefuls West Bromwich Albion. 


He's third choice and hasn't played at all this season, but that's not the point. We live in hope.


Al-Habsi's penalty saving, which saw the likes of Robin van Persie and Carlos Tevez knocked back, even earned him links to ​Arsenal and Liverpool earlier in his career. They were dark times.


7. Artur Boruc​ - 29.4%

Artur Boruc

Artur Boruc's career is full of big penalty saves. He did it in both Poland and Scotland, and he brought those talents over to the Premier League as well.

He has saved five out of 17 penalties since 2015, with both ​Southampton and ​Bournemouth benefiting from his 29.4% save ratio.

Earlier in his career, Boruc even scored a penalty during a game, firing home in Legia Warsaw's 6-0 win over Widzew Łódź in June 2004. That sounds more like a FIFA player who has given up trying, but you've got to respect it.


6. Hugo Lloris - 29.6%

Hugo Lloris

Hugo Lloris may love a high-profile mistake, but he's actually pretty reliable when it comes to keeping out penalties.

Since joining ​Tottenham Hotspur​, Lloris has saved 8 out of 27 penalties, earning himself a ratio of 29.6%.

It's not just in the Premier League that Lloris has shone. He kept ​Manchester City out in the ​Champions League quarter-final last season, but that's apparently not that hard these days.


5. Heurelho Gomes - 31.4%

Heurelho Gomes

You're lying if you say you knew Heurelho Gomes was going to be so high here. Statistically the fifth best penalty savour in Premier League history? Wild.

During his time with both ​Tottenham Hotspur and ​Watford, Gomes has faced a whopping 35 penalties, but he has actually managed to save 11 of those to earn himself a cool 31.4% ratio.

Gomes is the only goalkeeper to ever save two penalties in a game on two separate occasions, while his 11 saves is actually the most recorded by any goalkeeper in the league. The man's clearly a machine.


4. Jordan Pickford - 33.3%

Jordan Pickford

Say what you want about Jordan Pickford's decisions, kicking and positioning (or don't, because ​he'll get grumpy)​, but there's no denying that he can hold his own when it comes to saving penalties.

Of the 15 he has faced, he has saved five - all of which have come since he joined ​Everton in 2017.

​Thibaut Courtois only saved one during his time in England, so maybe that proves that being 6'5 isn't as good as he likes to think it is.


3. Simon Mignolet - 35.7%

Simon Mignolet

Are all disappointing goalkeepers secretly penalty wizards? Is that a thing? (Spoiler alert: yes).

Next up on the list is Simon Mignolet, who saved ten of the 28 penalties he faced while with Liverpool and Sunderland, earning himself a save ratio of 35.7%.

His later years at Liverpool proved that saving penalties was pretty much all he was good at, but hey, that's a great quality to have.​ Nice going.


2. Fraser Forster - 40%

Fraser Forster

Remember those few years where Southampton were one of the best teams in England, and Fraser Forster was a big reason why? How the times have changed.


Forster only faced ten penalties during his time in the Premier League, but his four saves earn him an impressive ratio of 40%. 


He even saved a penalty on his return to Celtic this season, proving he's still got it. Forster might have conceded from the rebound, but I don't care. A stat's a stat.


1. Manuel Almunia - 42.9%

Manuel Almunia

Come on then, hands up who thought Manuel Almunia would have the single greatest penalty save ratio in Premier League history. Nobody? Cool.

​The Spaniard may have only had to deal with 14 penalties during his time with Arsenal between 2004 and 2012, but he managed to make a whopping six saves. You definitely did not want to come up against him.

It wasn't in the Premier League, but it's worth mentioning that it was Almunia's penalty save in the 2012/13 ​Championship play-off semi-final second leg which allowed Watford's Troy Deeney to go down the other end and score one of the most exciting winners in history. We only got that highlight because of Almunia and his heroics.


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Source : 90min