THE best goalkeepers don’t only make big saves, they make them in big moments.
Allan McGregor’s performance in Serbia last night was vintage. The 40-year-old has endured a difficult 2022 and as the Rangers Review detailed recently, his underlying numbers do reveal a regression from the heights of last season.
However, on a night when few travelling players reached their expected performance levels, McGregor truly went beyond his.
Goals Saved Above Average (GSAA) is defined as the following: “How many goals did the keeper save/concede versus expectation (post-shot xG faced)? This is representative of how many goals the goalkeeper's saves prevented within a season.”
Facing 13 shots on target last night, McGregor ended the game with a GSAA of 0.52, an above-average output.
According to StatsBomb, Anthony Omoijuanfo's header on 19 minutes had the highest PSxG (Post-shot xG) of any Red Star effort. While xG measures the likelihood of a chance ending in a goal, PSxG accounts for the quality of a shot. For example, Omoijuanfo’s header had an xG of 0.15 but a PSxG of 0.39, the quality of his header increased the chances of a goal significantly.
As shown in the below freezeframe, McGregor was quick across his line as the cross swung from left to right to pick up a near-optimal position and gather comfortably.
The next highest PSxG shot McGregor faced came on the 66th minute. After initially parrying Guelor Kanga’s low drive from the edge of the box into the path of El Fardou Ben, sharp reactions saw McGregor make a double save. The eventual shot was relatively weak, however, the No.1 again demonstrated speed to get across and prevent the goal.
This time, the keeper recovered from a sub-optimal position quickly.
Having conceded early on in the fixture and lacking cohesive attacking rhythm throughout, it was imperative that Rangers remained strong defensively. If they’d lost a goal just before, or after, the break, Red Star would have regained momentum at a crucial point in proceedings.
From 45-55 minutes, the hosts had five shots. On 56 minutes, Ryan Kent put the tie beyond doubt.
The first of McGregor's stops during this period arrived after Cristiano Piccini won a 50/50 with Ryan Jack and cut inside onto his left foot, unleashing a shot that required a stunning one-handed save.
As seen above, the keeper was probably too far off his line and StatsBomb’s optimal position map below shows this to be the case. Nonetheless, the save was strong and decisive.
Another couple of comfortable interventions followed before McGregor again made the difference. This time from a corner, Milan Pavkov sneaked in at the front post and diverted a shot across the face of goal which was pushed away.
McGregor has enjoyed better individual performances statistically this season, notably the 2-0 win over Hearts at Tynecastle in which a GSAA total of 1.64 was effectively solely responsible for the win.
However, combined with a penalty save in the first leg, his contribution in the last 16 double-header against Red Star is arguably his biggest contribution this season.
His form has at times this year proved costly. However, his performance last night was a reminder of the consistent difference-maker he's proved to be time and again for his club. If Rangers' European dream is to be realised, McGregor's individualism could prove decisive.
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