How Sunderland goalkeeper Anthony Patterson compares to Leeds United and Burnley rivals - according to stats

Sunderland goalkeeper Anthony Patterson has been at the centre of heightened scrutiny in recent days following his costly error against Hull City last weekend.

The Black Cats’ number one failed to deal with a Joe Gelhardt corner, and in his inability to clear ultimately put the ball into his own net to hand the visitors a decisive goal in a 1-0 defeat for Regis Le Bris’ side at the Stadium of Light. In the period since, some sections of the fanbase have called for Le Bris to rotate his options between the sticks and to potentially take Patterson out of the starting XI ahead of Friday night’s clash with Sheffield Wednesday.

But the Black Cats head coach has reiterated his faith in his first choice stopper, and has praised the academy graduate for the general level of his performances this term. Speaking in a press conference this week, Le Bris said: "He's been really good this season, he's been really good.

"When a striker or goalkeeper makes a mistake like that, the consequences are always different. But Anthony has been a very good goalkeeper for the team so far this season and is still a good goalkeeper. He can make mistakes and he has to learn from these experiences and find the best way to finish the season.

"We have to be tough and we have to be connected with our mission. The mistake is a mistake. When a midfielder makes a mistake like that, the consequences are not the same. For a goalkeeper and a striker, I repeat, it's always different.

"It was probably his first mistake this season. I'm not sure if that's the case for all goalkeepers in the league but at the same time we want to improve his level. Sometimes it's not an accident, it means you can improve this or that and pay certain things more attention. It was a good reminder that it's important to focus on specific topics.

"It's important to repeat that Anthony has been very consistent. It was the only goal of that game so the consequences were really important. But if you focus on the 34 games we've played with him, he's been really good."

But how does Patterson measure up to the goalkeeping options at Sunderland’s closest promotion rivals, Leeds United, Sheffield United, and Burnley? We’ve taken a closer look at the stats below...

Goals conceded and clean sheets

At the time of writing, Patterson has conceded 29 goals in the Championship this season, which is the worst tally of any number one in the top four. Bettering him marginally is Sheffield United’s Michael Cooper, with a running total of 24, while Illan Meslier of Leeds United has shipped 21. Way out in front, however, is Burnley’s James Trafford who has, quite remarkably, conceded just nine goals so far this term.

In terms of clean sheets, Patterson once again trails the rest of the pack by a fair distance, with just 11 to his name, compared to Cooper’s 17, Meslier’s 20, and Trafford’s 24.

Patterson also holds the lowest save percentage in the top four, at 70.41%. The next lowest tally is Meslier’s at 71.83%, then Cooper at 78.79%, and finally Trafford, at a whopping 88%.

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PSxG

Not every goal conceded is necessarily a goalkeeper’s fault, however, and instead, a more accurate way of getting a reading on a stopper’s level of performance is to consider their Post Shots Expected Goals, or PSxG. Just as xG measures the likelihood of a striker scoring a goal based on the quality of a chance, PSxG determines how likely a goalkeeper is to concede a goal based on a whole host of various data points.

By finding the difference between PSxG and the actual number of goals that a goalkeeper has conceded, it is possible to work out how much of a positive impact their shot-stopping is having on their side. With that in mind, Patterson’s seasonal tally of +4.8 is actually fairly decent, and is only a touch worse than Cooper’s +5.1.

The pair are both streets ahead of Meslier, who is currently on +1.8, but are also miles behind Trafford, who has saved a full +10.0 expected goals for Burnley this season.

Distribution

One of the biggest criticisms that is frequently levelled at Patterson is that his long range distribution is lacking in quality, and yet, when compared to his peers, the stats would suggest that he actually isn’t too bad at all. At the time of writing, when taking into account passes longer than 40 yards, the Sunderland man has a completion rate of 30.9%. The only other goalkeeper in the top four to better that figure is Cooper, with a completion rate of 37.7%. Elsewhere, Trafford and Meslier are both locked on 25.9%, some way behind Patterson.

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