Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have led the way for La Liga as the consensus top two players in the world but while Spain’s top division is known for its elite goal scorers, the star talent doesn’t end there. Whether it’s for fantasy purposes or for love of the game, identifying the very best at their positions makes for some interesting insight. Here is a look at the top five goalkeepers from La Liga this past season.
Claudio Bravo, Barcelona
He might not have started for Barcelona on their wonderful Champions League run with Marc-Andre ter Stegen filling that role but when it came to the league season, the bottom line is that no La Liga goalkeeper put up better numbers this season than Barcelona’s No. 1 man. Bravo’s 30 wins were six more than any other goalkeeper and his 23 clean sheets were 11 more than the second-highest total. The fact that he made only 71 saves is offset by the fact that he allowed only 19 goals and it will be very interesting to see how the club handles its goalkeeper situation moving forward to next year as from start to finish Bravo was La Liga’s best. As a team, they only allowed 21 goals this season, which was by far the fewest in the Spanish Primera.
Diego Alves, Valencia
Alves finished this past season with 22 wins and 13 clean sheets to earn the second spot on this list. He clearly delivered one of the most consistent performances of the year from start to finish. Valencia was a quality defensive team all year round as they allowed just 32 goals. Alves’ 89 saves were 18 more than Bravo but he also allowed 10 more goals and when you factor in the disparity in wins and clean sheets, it only makes sense to plug him in as La Liga’s second-best goalkeeper from this past year of soccer.
Iker Casillas, Real Madrid
Bravo led all La Liga goalkeepers in wins and clean sheets by a long shot but Casillas’ averages were very good in comparison as he managed to record 24 wins and 12 clean sheets in 32 starts this past season. Casillas also faced more action as he made 82 saves despite five fewer starts than Bravo. The fact that he allowed 35 goals the only real problem with his overall La Liga totals from this past season. As a team, they gave up 38 which is was fifth-most even though the team finished second in the table.
Miguel Moya, Atletico Madrid
It was a very inconsistent season for Atletico Madrid but wasn’t the one to blame. Most of the issues were at the offensive end at the pitch, though. Moya was fairly steady in goal as he managed to record 17 wins in just 27 starts with 12 clean sheets and while he didn’t play as many minutes as some of the other goalies on this list, he did produce when he played. He still got the call for 27 of the team’s 38 games. Considering his splits, he certainly deserves a spot on this list among the best goalkeepers from La Liga this past season.
Sergio Asenjo, Villarreal
Asenjo might have finished the year with less than half as many wins as Bravo with 14 in 34 games but he actually posted the second-most clean sheets with 15 and finished the year with 90 saves compared to 31 goals against. It’s quite impressive when you realize that Villareal gave up 37 goals this season but 15 times Asenjo shut out the opponent.
Malaga’s Idriss Carlos Kameni also deserves honorable mention on this list based on the sheer amount of saves he was forced to make as Malaga had a very weak defensive line in front of them. However, we will give the nod to Asenjo ahead of him based on five more clean sheets.
