2022 in review: top goalkeepers

bundesliga.com outlines the goalkeepers with the best save ratio throughout the past calendar year…

5) Mark Flekken (Freiburg, 70 percent of shots saved)

A big part of Freiburg's success over the past couple of seasons, Flekken would likely be even higher up this list if not for a late blip at the end of the 2021/22 campaign in which Christian Streich's side conceded 12 goals in their last four games. That has contributed to the Dutchman's average save ratio coming out at 70 percent; this season it is at 75 percent. Flekken has kept a league-high eight clean sheets so far this term, and his ability in keeping out one-on-one chances, composure on the ball and two-footedness are key reasons why he has not missed a single minute of action this season.

4) Koen Casteels (Wolfsburg, 73 percent)

As one of the tallest goalkeepers in the Bundesliga, standing at 6'5", it is perhaps no surprise to see Casteels here given how he fills the frame of the goal. The Belgian kept out 73 percent of all shots at his goal in 2022, while also keeping clean sheets in 10 of his 28 league outings throughout the year. Furthermore, the Wolfsburg custodian is something of a penalty expert having stopped 12 of the 42 spot-kicks he has faced – more than any other goalkeeper currently in the division.

3=) Manuel Neuer (Bayern, 74 percent)

The goalkeeping GOAT, Neuer is currently in his 17th Bundesliga season, although it appears he has played his last game in 2022/23 after breaking his leg while skiing. Still, his 74 percent save rate is mightily impressive and one of the key factors in Bayern having the best defensive record in the league this term, with just 13 goals conceded. The 36-year-old has made 478 Bundesliga appearances and kept a record-setting 218 clean sheets along the way. Those best-marks look set to stand for a long while yet.

Watch: Neuer rewriting the history books

3=) Yann Sommer (Gladbach, 74 per cent)

The long-standing pretender to Neuer's throne, Sommer also kept out 74 percent of all shots in 2022. That figure rose to 95 percent on Matchday 4 when the Swiss custodian drove Bayern to despair by saving an astonishing 19 of the 20 efforts the home side fired at him in the 1-1 draw in Munich. Prior to that game, no goalkeeper had ever made more than 14 saves in a single Bundesliga game since detailed data collection began in 1992. That helped bump his stats up to 78 percent for the season, a record he shares with Frederik Rönnow.

Watch: Yann Sommer Analysis

1) Frederik Rönnow (Union Berlin, 76 percent)

The Union custodian tops the billing when it comes to saving shots, blocking 76 percent of all efforts he faced in 2022. Indeed, the Dane's contribution to the capital club's success cannot be overstated: they have lost just two of the 18 Bundesliga games he has played in, winning 12 and drawing four. Rönnow has conceded a goal every 110 minutes on average in 2022/23 and is the only regular first-choice goalkeeper not to concede a long-range goal in the current campaign.

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