Over the weekend, David de Gea saved a ball with his feet and the whole football world lost their minds. In fairness, it was a very nice save. But De Gea’s done this before (many times), so it was a bit unclear why it was such a big deal that he made another big save with his feet — beyond the part where kick saves tend to amaze people for no reason other than forgetting that goalkeepers can use their feet, just like everyone else.
In any case, not to be left behind by his one-time Atlético Madrid predecessor — that progression will never cease to amaze, from De Gea to Courtois to Oblak — Courtois pulled off not one, but TWO amazing kick saves in Wednesday’s game against Roma. Like De Gea’s save, Courtois’s heroics preserved a draw for Chelsea, though the latter’s accomplishments are likely to be lost amid all the other drama going on (when the lip readers come in, this time to analyze David Luiz, you know we’re in the thick of it).
But we’re not forgetting about ya, T-BO! Keep up the good work!
The first save, on Nainggolan can be seen at the top. Here’s the second, on the cross that was heading for Edin Dzeko’s foot and hat-trick.
Previous Encyclopaedia Thibautica entries:
VOLUME I:
.1: David Nugent (Leicester City)
.2: Kevin Mirallas (Everton)
.3: Adam Lallana (Liverpool)
.4: triple save (Hull City)
VOLUME II:
.1: James Morrison (WBA)
.2: Ander Herrera (Manchester United)
VOLUME III:
.1: Divock Origi (Liverpool)
.2: Patrick van Aanholt (Sunderland)
VOLUME IV:
.0: Granit Xhaka (Arsenal)
.1: kick saves (AS Roma)