Football: The best goal-keeping heroics of 2020
Goal-keeping in football is a tough job and on several occasions, one needs to be at his best to deny the opponent from making inroads. The year 2020 was disrupted by the coronavirus pandemic, however, once the sport resumed, several performances stood out in European football. Here we present some of the best goal-keeping heroics in a match this year.
Southampton's Alex McCarthy excels against Newcastle in Premier League
Southampton's Alex McCarthy was superb against Newcastle United in Premier League 2019-20 season back in March. In a commendable first half, he spread himself to thwart Dwight Gayle's point-blank snapshot, before instantly diving to his left to keep out Miguel Almiron, who was denied for a second time. McCarthy tipped the ball around the post for a corner. He also stopped Matt Ritchie's penalty.
Johnstone makes a string of superb stops against Man United
Manchester United won 1-0 at home in the Premier League against West Brom last month. The Baggies made life difficult for United, with Sam Johnstone making several saves. He denied Anthony Martial's goal-bound header with a neat save to his right, and then made another superb block denying the Frenchman. His point-blank reaction save to turn away Marcus Rashford's effort was the best.
De Gea dazzles against PSG in Paris
Man United's David de Gea showed his brilliance in the first leg against PSG during the Champions League 2020-21 Group H opener. United won the game 2-1 and the Spaniard played a key role. He palmed away Angel Di Maria's effort, before bravely denying Layvin Kurzawa from point-blank range. He also denied Kylian Mbappe with a flying save in the second half.
Johnstone impresses against Manchester City at the Etihad
Johnstone was once again impressive in his side's 1-1 draw against giants Manchester City in the Premier League this month. In the 86th minute, he made a plunging save to deny Kevin De Bruyne's low, bouncing effort. And then in injury-time, he denied IIkay Gundogan's header from point-blank range, before also preventing Raheem Sterling with a miraculous save with his feet.
