We’re at the point of the season, with the race at the top and bottom so tight, that every goal matters just that little bit more.
That means goalkeepers come into even sharper focus, as games - and potentially titles - could be won with their heroics or lost through their mistakes.
It’s an incredible burden to carry, the pressure only intensifying with each passing game. Which is what separates the best from the rest; who can stand up when matters most to deliver for their team.
Being a club’s No.1 is about so much more than just preventing the ball from going into the net. That’s the primary role, of course, but it’s also to provide organisation and structure to the defence: when to push up, when to drop back, etc.
Keeping clean sheets is how goalkeepers are measured, but that’s only one part of the equation and is much down the team’s rearguard as it is the individual goalkeeper.
So, as we enter 2024-25 "The Final Stretch", where titles will be decided, continental places confirmed and relegation settled, who are the shot-stoppers in line to be this recognised as the season’s best?
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Koen Casteels (Al Qadsiah)
The 32-year-old Belgian arrived at Al Qadsiah after a stellar 10-year career in Germany with VfL Wolfsburg, not to mention on the back of impressive performances for his national team at the UEFA European Championships last summer.
Casteels has carried that form with him to the RSL, proving to be the competition’s standout goalkeeper this campaign, with a league best 13 clean sheets. At present, his save percentage at 75.8% is ranked fourth in 2024-25.
Just as impressive is the fact Al Qadsiah have conceded the fewest goals this season with 22, which speaks in part to the quality of Casteels’ leadership at the back.
While it helps to have someone the calibre of Nacho in front, a remodelled rearguard from the summer investment has gelled brilliantly – which is testament to each contributor.
It will, however, most probably grate the backline that they have kept one clean sheet in their past five in the RSL, which has perhaps dampened expectations that Casteels might be able to challenge for the record of clean sheets in a single season.
That mark is held by Marcelo Grohe, when the Brazilian recorded 19 in his title-winning campaign with Al Ittihad.
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Orlando Mosquera (Al Fayha)
It’s perhaps surprising that a side battling relegation would have statistically the season’s second-best keeper, but that is exactly the case with Orlando Mosquera and Al Fayha.
The 30-year-old Panamanian international has been a standout for Al Fayha in an otherwise difficult campaign, with nine clean sheets from 23 games.
It begs the question as to where Al Fayha would be without Mosquera this season, such has his influence been. His save percentage is right up there at 74.2% (ranks 7th), while he has also saved two of the seven penalties he has faced, the best record of any goalkeeper in the league.
With safety still not secured, Al Fayha will be hoping Mosquera can display that kind of form across “The Final Stretch”.
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Edouard Mendy (Al Ahli)
The Senegal international was locked in a fierce battle for Goalkeeper of the Season with fellow African Yassine Bounou for all of last season, with the Moroccan ultimately claiming bragging rights.
However, while Mendy hasn’t been churning out the exact same statistics this term, it’s still been another impressive campaign for the former Chelsea shot-stopper.
Meanwhile, Mendy’s eight clean sheets ranks in the top three for 2024-25. His distribution can be impactful, too, as evidenced by the assist in Al Ahli’s 5-0 victory against Al Riyadh in February.
But both Mendy’s and Al Ahli’s form has taken a dip in recent weeks, with six goals conceded in their past three RSL matches. In that time, they’ve gone winless to just drop back in their quest to secure a second successive top-three finish since gaining promotion back to the top flight before last season.
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Best of the Rest
Other goalkeepers still in contention for the gong at the end of the campaign include Milan Borjan, Bento and Bounou.
Borjan, the Croatian-born Canadian international, has had a feast-or-famine kind of season. He has collected a joint-third-best eight clean sheets from 26 games for Al Riyadh but has conceded 35 goals in the other 18 matches he has played.
Al Nassr made signing a new goalkeeper one of their priorities in the summer and, in Bento, they’ve certainly found someone they can rely upon. The Brazilian has made a number of clutch saves this term and kept seven clean sheets in the process.
Across Riyadh, Bounou hasn’t hit the heights he did last season but, then again, neither have Al Hilal. The Morocco international still has seven clean sheets to his name.
But, as a unit, the RSL champions have generally been more porous this season (they have conceded 31 goals already, compared to 23 last term).
Also, Al Taawoun’s Mailson has one of the best clean sheet records in the league at seven from 16 appearances, and no doubt would’ve been in contention for the award were it not for an untimely injury.
The Brazilian’s season is over following a knee injury sustained mid-February. Arguably, it could not have come at a worse time as Al Taawoun competed in the AFC Champions League Two.
To their credit, they remain on course for a place in the continental final following this week’s 1-0 victory in the last-four first leg against UAE club Sharjah.
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Check out the other features in our 'Final Stretch' series
- The Title Race HERE
- The Fight for Survival HERE
- The Battle for Top Four HERE
- 10 Saudi Stars to Watch HERE
- The Golden Boot Contenders HERE
