Journalist-cum-pundit Julien Laurens believes Ederson Moraes is having quite an underwhelming season at Manchester City so far.
After the former Benfica goalkeeper’s heroics during his side’s 1-1 draw against Chelsea, Steve Nicol claimed that without his vital saves, the hosts would have suffered a defeat at the Etihad Stadium.
However, it’s fair to claim that City’s defence has struggled this season, with perhaps some now pointing fingers at Ederson’s contributions.
Julien Laurens says Ederson has been poor for Manchester City this season
But the £100,000-a-week (Sport Rac) man has barely erred for Pep Guardiola’s men this season and mostly, he has just been on the receiving end of high-quality chances.
For instance, against Crystal Palace, some may have decided to criticise the £35 million (The Independent) shotstopper for failing to keep out their only two shots on target in a 2-2 draw between both sides in December.
Then again, one was a brilliant finish from Jean-Philippe Mateta and the other goal was a well-taken penalty from Michael Olise, which meant the Brazilian could not do much about both strikes.
However, Julien Laurens still feels Manchester City number one Ederson has not covered himself in glory during the 2023/2024 campaign.
“Ederson in goal, I said it to you when we were preparing for the show, I think he’s got the worst save ratio in all the big five leagues [in Europe], 55%. So, one in every two shots go in”, he said [via ESPN FC].
“And I know he doesn’t face many so it’s harsh. But still, two shots or four, two go in or one goes in, it’s bad!”
Ederson cannot be blamed one bit
In our view, Julien Laurens is being harsh by criticising Ederson.
As previously mentioned, the 30-year-old can only keep so many high-quality shots out and the onus should be on City’s defence to improve their displays.
Perhaps some blame could also be attributed towards Pep Guardiola, who has not played a natural midfielder alongside Rodri in several games this term, leaving his side more exposed to counter-attacks.
Ederson is only doing the best he can and most goalkeepers in the world would perhaps not look the best from a statistical perspective if they were facing the attempts he has this season.
