Manchester United are struggling to keep a firm hand in the league as the players are continuously failing in front of the goal. Still somehow the team is battling in the league to achieve a top 4 finish. Manager’s ‘Philosophy’ may have played a major role that has let the team down. The team is having one of their worst seasons so far. But there has been a man who has portrayed himself as one of the best in the world.
David De Gea, the Manchester United player who leads the backline for the club. He has been exceptionally well this season and is getting better and better every season. After such a poor run of form, United are still the contenders for the top 4 finish thanks to the fantastic form of De Gea. He is having a peak time in his career, the Spaniard has made no mistake this season and that is the main reason why United are competing for the honors. Manchester United would surely have been struggling in the mid table if he hasn’t been there between the sticks.
De Gea is progressing quickly and surely he will be one of the best keepers in the world. But, he has a fierce competition in the same position in the league. We are talking about the Czech International Petr Cech. Had a rough last season at Chelsea due to the arrival of Thibaut Courtois and eventually decided to leave the club. There was a speculation going on during that period about De Gea leaving Manchester United so the Reds aimed Petr Cech to replace the Spaniard but the player decided to join Arsenal instead as their keeper Szczesny was sent to Roma on loan.
At the age of 33, Cech is still one of the best in his area. He is a superb shot stopper and is a pure leader who commands the defence in style. Arsenal have been a much better side after his arrival as their defence have been one of the best in the recent times.
Both the players have been exceptional in their respective team but we will try to figure it out that who amongst both had a better season.
De Gea vs Petr Cech-
David De Gea had a cagey start in this season for the Devils as he was about to leave the club for the Spanish Giant but somehow the deal failed. Petr Cech has played 28 games for his side whereas De Gea has played 27 in the premier league. Both have become an integral part of their teams and are one of the best in the business.
Starting with the clean sheets, the Czech star has managed to keep 12 clean sheets, the same amount he shares it with his competitor David De Gea. But the young Spanish gun beats the former Chelsea man when it comes to the passing accuracy as he has the passing accuracy of 73% whereas Cech has 63%.
Petr Cech easily out muscles De Gea in terms of the awards in this season’s premier league as he has won 6 awards as the ‘keeper of the week’ whereas De Gea has won just 2. But, both of them have been the man of the match for their teams twice.
When comparing both in terms of conceding the goals, Petr Cech has conceded 18 goals in an open play and, on the other hand, De Gea has conceded just 14. But, when it comes in conceding from the corners, De Gea has conceded 4 and Cech have 2.
They both give a head to head competition when we talk about an average of saves per game. The Gunner’s man averages 2.39 saves per game and De Gea averages 2.33 saves. Well, it is a tough call as both the players are enjoying their best run of form.
When talking about claiming success in their attempts De Ge averages 95% of success in his attempts while Cech averages 88% in his attempts. Cech beats his opponent when the talk is about the punches in the game in which he averages 39% and De Gea averages 37%.
Petr Cech easily outmuscles De Gea when it comes to the distribution of the ball. He completes a number of 570 successful distributions including throws, goal kicks and kicks from the hand. De Gea comparatively has lacked in the same attribute where he has completed 489 successful distributions. The Czech star also overpowers the Spanish when we talk about the length of the distribution as he averages 53.75m from the goal kicks while the young Spanish averages just 49.81m.
Considering all the above points, we have a clear winner. The Czech International Petr Cech wins the battle of the stats. De Gea is having a great run of form this season as he has been the number 1 player for the squad in terms of the performance but the stats don’t lie. Cech is the winner.