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Goal keepers really aren’t supposed to pull off moves. In fact, they are so not supposed to pull off moves, that when they do they take everyone by surprise and usually work.
Case in point: Simon Mignolet during Liverpool vs Borussia Dortmund. Notice how Liverpool’s Mignolet is being closed down hard by Dortmund’s Pierre Emerick Aubameyang.
See how hard Aubamayeng played the pass? That’s because keepers almost always just boot the s*** out of the ball in that position. Fortunately for Mignolet, it also meant that the saddest excuse for a Cruyff turn I’ve ever seen actually worked, and sent Aubamayeng sliding towards an empty patch of grass.
In fact it worked so well that you wonder why keepers don’t pull similar fakes all of the time. Something that we were forced to ponder further when goal keeper David Bicik made a fool of himself during Sparta Prague vs Villareal.
As you can see, Bicik didn’t pull a Cruyff turn when he found himself in a similar position to Mignolet. Instead, he kicked the ball directly into an on-rushing attacker and pretty much scored on himself in the process.
Now if you'll excuse me, I'm about to try science.
We’ve got some alarming evidence here, people. I mean, from this sample size of two, goal keepers should pull of moves literally every time they touch the ball. There is a 1:1 correlation dictating that if a goal keeper pulls off a move, it will work, and if they don’t, they will get scored on.
You can’t explain that.
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