Marina Granovskaia's £22m transfer masterstroke gives Chelsea edge in Premier League title
race
Chelsea have constructed an incredibly strong squad over the course of the past two years
and, as a result, the Blues are recognised as title favourites by many.
Romelu Lukaku, in particular, is being deemed as the signing who can deliver the Premier
League to Stamford Bridge, and he showed that over the course of the week against Aston
Villa and Zenit St Petersburg.
The Belgian striker scored three in those two games, but another key signing performed
to a high level in Edouard Mendy.
The 29-year-old goalkeeper was signed in the summer of 2020, for a reported £22million,
which is perhaps why he's drifting under the radar as an integral presence behind Chelsea's
strength.
He's saved the joint-most shots in the Premier League so far this season with 16, which is
quite surprising given that he's playing behind Thomas Tuchel's impressive defence.
It is difficult to truly capture the influence of a goalkeeper, but Expected Goals (xG) can
be applied in order to gauge some form of understanding.
xG offers an insight into the likelihood of an attempt being scored by considering aspects
such as shot location, and it tends to provide an accurate summary of whether a team deserved
fewer or more goals based on their shots.
Post-shot xG can be applied to goalkeepers as it specifically focuses on shots that hit
the target and takes into account the quality and trajectory of the shot, thus relating
to shot-stopping.
Mendy has been expected to concede around 90.7 goals in the Premier League and Ligue
1 based on the shots on target he's faced since 2018, but he's actually shipped just
84 (excluding own goals).
That essentially means he's saved shots to an above-average standard, overperforming
by roughly 6.7 goals.
Saving above expectation generally indicates above-average performance, and saving below
expectation indicates the opposite.
Mendy's numbers are notably better than those posted by Kepa Arrizabalaga, who was benched
after the arrival of the Senegal international last summer.
Over the same period of time, Kepa has been expected to ship 122.9 goals between the sticks,
compared to his actual total of 132 goals conceded.
The Spaniard has thus underperformed expectation by 9.1 goals since he joined Chelsea, which
highlights the difference between the two goalkeepers.
Based on their showings since 2018, Mendy could be deemed as an above-average shot-stopper,
whereas Kepa appears below average.
Chelsea's title charge will carry on this weekend against Tottenham Hotspur, who continue
to be led by their star striker, Harry Kane.
Keeping him quiet will be vital if the Blues are to secure three points, and Mendy could
be the player to make that happen.