The hero of CL Kobel in midfield: the 911 stats of the regular goalkeepers of the Bundesliga

Borussia Dortmund bought tickets for the Champions League round of 16 on Tuesday evening. A goalless draw against Manchester City was enough as BVB had already won the direct match against FC Sevilla. Gregor Kobel captured the necessary point on Riyad Mahrez’s penalty.

Many BVB fans have rubbed their eyes in amazement, as saved penalties have been a rarity in their favorite club in recent years. Roman Bürki, for example, has only saved one of 25 penalty shots in seven years with the Giallorossi. Kobel himself had already defused a penalty in the premier class last season, but he still had to catch the ball at Sporting after the rebound. With the save against Mahrez, the Swiss has now saved two penalties out of seven since he played for BVB.

Previously three shows in ten years

How far the goalkeeper swims against the trend of his predecessors shows a statistic WAZ. According to the regional newspaper, Dortmund’s goalkeepers have saved a total of three penalties over the past decade, in addition to Bürki’s save against Inter (0-2 defeat) Roman Weidenfeller saved in 2013 and ’14. After all, the two-time champion goalkeeper managed to win in the district derby against FC Schalke 04 and in the Champions League against Real Madrid.

Christensen and Riemann the specialists

Obviously Weidenfeller cannot be described as a specialist. Kobel has yet to earn this status too. Compared to his fellow Bundesliga goalscorers, the 24-year-old ranks in midfield in terms of penalty rates that were not converted against him. The biggest penalty killer in the league is according to the portal data Transfermarkt Oliver Christensen of Hertha BSC. In his young career, the Dane saved a sensational 42.86% of all penalties between clubs and competitions or missed a shot. However, the Hertha player did not make most of these saves at the highest level. So Manuel Riemann can probably continue to be considered the true specialist. In his career, the VfL Bochum goalkeeper has already won 30 penalties in a duel with the shooter.

The penalty rate of the Bundesliga goalkeepers

1. Oliver Christensen, Hertha BSC, 9 out of 21 unconverted, 42.86 percent

2. Manuel Riemann, VfL Bochum, 30 out of 85 unconverted, 35.29 percent

3. Koen Casteels, VfL Wolfsburg, 17 of 52 unconverted, 32.69 percent

4. Kevin Trapp, Eintracht Frankfurt, 20 out of 65 unconverted, 30.77 percent

5. Lukas Hradecky, Bayer Leverkusen, 17 of 57 unconverted, 29.82 percent

6. Manuel Neuer, FC Bayern, 22 out of 75 unconverted, 29.33 percent

7. Rafal Gikiewicz, FC Augsburg, 12 out of 46 unconverted, 26.09 percent

8. Florian Müller, VfB Stuttgart, 7 out of 27 unconverted, 25.93 percent

9. Yann Sommer, Borussia Mönchengladbach, 24 out of 93 unconverted, 25.80 percent

10. Marvin Schwäbe, 1.FC Köln, 11 out of 45 unconverted, 24.4 percent

11. Oliver Baumann, TSG Hoffenheim, 18 of 74 unconverted, 24.32 percent

12. Gregor Kobel, Borussia Dortmund, 9 out of 38 unconverted, 23.68 percent

13. Peter Gulacsi, RB Leipzig, 13 out of 58 unprocessed, 22.41 percent

14. Robin Zentner, FSV Mainz 05, 5 out of 34 unconverted, 14.71 percent

15. Jiri Pavlenka, Werder Bremen, 5 out of 38 unconverted, 13.16 percent

16. Alexander Schwolow, FC Schalke 04, 8 out of 63 unconverted, 12.70 percent

17. Mark Flekken, SC Freiburg, 4 out of 32 unconverted, 12.5 percent

18. Frederik Rönnow, Union Berlin, 4 out of 34 unconverted, 11.76 per cent

(Information via Transfermarkt; without penalty kicks; from 26 October 2022)