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Encyclopaedia Thibautica, Volume I.3: Wonder save from Liverpool's Adam Lallana

Michael Regan/Getty Images

It's been a while since we got to do one of these, though that's hardly a slight on young Thibaut Courtois.  Wonder saves simply don't happen every week, and if they do, it's more likely a sign of a bad team than a good one.

Since his early-season heroics, Courtois has been busy with keeping clean sheets behind Chelsea's usually solid defense (6 in his previous 9 appearances), or picking the ball out from the back of the net after perfect finishes (see: Kane, Harry).  And while he was also beaten by a very good (and very open) Raheem Sterling left-footed shot into the far side netting, he also single-handedly kept Liverpool at bay on multiple occasions, most impressively on Adam Lallana's screwball of a shot.

I like this behind the net angle because it makes two things clear.  One, Courtois was a bit unsighted by Gary Cahill and John Terry, and two, that shot has a wicked slice on it.  Bonus points for the Liverpool fan in the foreground, with the smooth celebration-to-head-in-hands reaction.

Tremendous stuff.

Sky Sports awarded their Man of the Match award to the Chelsea goalkeeper; Mourinho wasn't too far behind with his praise either.

"I decide [which goalkeeper to play] according to the profile of the game we are expecting. It's fantastic for us to have these two goalkeepers. I think the three best keepers in the world are Petr, Courtois and Neuer."

-Jose Mourinho; source: Chelsea FC

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