Real Madrid: A case for Keylor Navas

Keylor Navas made a mistake

Navas made a massive error and that third goal completely falls at the hand (get it?) of the shot stopper. Even among his staunchest supporters, I can’t say that Navas isn’t prone to making a mistake. However, I can’t say that the rest of the squad is faultless either.

I am sure Sergio Ramos regrets some of the 274 cards, among them 24 red cards, he has picked up in his career. Though the focus is very rightly on Navas’s mistake, one should also take note that two of the three goals Real Madrid conceded against Juventus came down Marcelo’s side. In fact, Juventus had seven crosses down that flank, with the Brazilian notably absent or defensively lax in the lead up to both goals.

Even Cristiano Ronaldo has had to face the critics this season before the turn of the New Year turned him into some sort of goal scoring robot. Fact is, most of the individuals on this team have flaws, make mistakes (some more often than others) and yet, we don’t demand their heads. That is because they do something that world class players do, and something Keylor Navas also does.

Keylor Navas is a big game player

There will be some of you who roll your eyes back in disgust saying, “Keylor Navas a big game player? Did we watch the same game last Wednesday?”

True, Navas did himself little favors in proving he is a big game player against Juventus, however, outside of that error, Navas has been in fantastic form throughout this key stretch of the season. Firstly, he kept a clean sheet in Turin with this save possible getting lost in the moment.

He then went and denied Koke at point blank range for the game winner in the Madrid derby. Outside of this season, he made multiple key saves in Los Blancos’s penultimate league game against Malaga to help Real to a 33rd La Liga title.

He was only outdone in Cardiff by a stunning goal from Mario Mandzukic and his 2015/16 season produced some of the finest goalkeeping displays ever seen from a Real Madrid goalkeeper.

In truth, Navas is having as good a season as a goalkeeper who is starved of clean sheets can have. In total, he has committed three errors in all competitions this season and none of them have cost Madrid (although, as I’ve already stated, this one could have).

He has the ninth most saves per 90 minutes and the third most inside his penalty area, statistics that match up with that of David De Gea and Allssion Becker.