Ederson has made a big impact in goal for Manchester City
Wednesday 19 December 2018 12:42, UK
Manchester City's Ederson is sixth in our countdown of the standout Premier League players of 2018.
He finished his first season in England as a Premier League winner and while there were many reasons why Manchester City improved last term, his arrival was a crucial factor.
The Brazilian provided assurance at the back after Claudio Bravo's struggles in goal, but he also transformed City's ability to play the ball out with his extraordinary range of passing.
No goalkeeper kept as many clean sheets as Ederson in the Premier League in 2018 and while that owed plenty to the players ahead of him, he was often the man who saved his team when their high line was breached.
Only Tottenham's Hugo Lloris came off his line to sweep up more times than Ederson in 2018 and it was the Manchester City goalkeeper who made fewer errors. His decision-making was excellent.
As for his passing, Ederson had the best passing accuracy of any regular goalkeeper in 2018 - an impressive statistic given his willingness to hit the ball long.
He was the only goalkeeper in the Premier League to provide an assist in the Premier League in 2018 - setting up Sergio Aguero's opener in the win over Huddersfield in August.
He began the year having produced a last-minute penalty save from Crystal Palace's Luka Milivojevic to earn a point with his final touch of 2017 and took that form into the New Year.
In February, Ederson came up with arguably his best save in a City shirt, in another draw away from home, this time against Burnley.
His outrageous fingertip effort high to his left was enough to push Aaron Lennon's shot onto the woodwork and was the sort of stop that average goalkeepers do not produce.
The following month there was another penalty save, this time to deny Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in City's routine 3-0 win over Arsenal.
The saves just kept coming and from the first day of September to the fourth day of November, Ederson did not concede a Premier League goal.
"He has been pretty impressive," Matt Le Tissier tells Sky Sports. "In terms of goalkeepers, I would have him up there with Alisson and De Gea as the best goalkeepers in the Premier League. He has made a big difference.
"In terms of the way that Pep wants to play, it is vital that a goalkeeper is confident in his ability to pass the ball, and he has almost got too much confidence, throwing in no-look passes on the edge of the box!"
