A threat to Courtois

Two old friends and a Zamora. The trophy for the best goalkeeper in LaLiga will go, barring a major turn of events, to Courtois o Bono. And although right now the Belgian is the leader, the Moroccan is really close not only to overtake him, but to leave him far behind and sit firmly on the throne. The reason? Bono has a much better coefficient… But he still doesn’t meet the minimum games to qualify for the trophy. This rule is very simple: in order to win the Zamora you have to be the goalkeeper with the lowest coefficient and have played a minimum of 28 league games with 60′ in each one.

The Sevilla goalkeeper has 25, having missed three due to the Africa Cup, two due to discomfort and one due to a technical decision. But it is indisputable for Lopetegui and will surely reach the figure of 28 that will authorize him to use his coefficient to opt for Zamora. It will be there when the problems for Courtois will begin. Yassine has a coefficient of 0.64 (16 goals conceded in 25 league games) y Courtois, 0.84 (26 goals conceded in 31 games). Behind, as the third candidate, is Rulli (coefficient of 0.88; 23 goals conceded in 26 games). Thibaut You need a home stretch of honors, plus a wire from your defense and pray that Bonohowever, lose the key to the padlock in the seven remaining games.

Yassine Bono, during a warm-up in El Sadar, on February 5, 2022.

Cara a cara

The confrontation between the two leaders of the table will be, precisely, this Sunday in the Pizjuan (9:00 p.m., Movistar LaLiga), a duel that will have the two most feline cats in the category in the goals. We take a look at the data, focusing solely on League matches. Courtois has stopped more (82 interventions, by Bono’s 71). The one from Madrid he has stopped 48 shots from inside the area for 34 from outside; the one from Sevilla he gets very close in shots from inside the area (43), but is somewhat further away from long distance (28). All these data come from the statistical source of EIGHTH.

Bono, however, has a better save percentage than Courtois: 76.34% of the Moroccan, by 75.93% of the Belgian. Pulling the scalpel again it is observed that the one from Sevilla suffers in long shots, but it is very safe when they come from within the area. So much so, that his 82% parries from close range is reduced to 73% from distance. But with Courtois the case is exactly the opposite: From outside the area he has an impressive 95% save rate, he is a wall, but when the shot comes from close range it is drastically reduced to 67%. As for penalties, both have stopped one of the current League (Bono has had two and Courtois, three).

Statistics of both goalkeepers taking into account all competitions, not just LaLiga.

Old friends

Both coincided at Atlético de Madrid. Courtois arrived at the banks of the Manzanares in the summer of 2011, but by then Bono continued to defend the colors of Wydad Casablanca. It was the summer of 2012 when he joined the rojiblanca quarry with the label of being one of the greatest promises of the moment. He was the goalkeeper of the subsidiary and combined that work with training with the elders and some calls, but he never made his debut in an official match with the first team. The 2013-14 season had ahead of Aranzubia and the next two were spent on loan at the Zaragoza. finally came out to Girona and from there, to Sevilla. Despite this, he trained with Courtois and was his substitute in some matches. This Sunday they will be rivals. And this season they are playing Zamora.

Bono and Courtois, during a warm-up at the RCDE Stadium, on October 19, 2013. That night Yassine was a substitute for Thibaut.