Manchester United goalkeeper Andre Onana has been in rich form this season.
With three clean sheets in the Premier League this term, he is leading the charts along with David Raya and Alisson Becker.
His standout double save against Crystal Palace helped United to earn a point on Saturday.
He dived low to stop Eddie Nketiah’s strike and then fearlessly threw himself towards Ismaila Sarr to block his shot on the rebound.
His penalty save against Southampton proved to be the catalyst for United.
When the scores were 0-0, he denied Cameron Archer from the spot. His reaction save to maintain the deadlock was even better.
The improvement in his performance could be due to the much-settled defence ahead of him.
Noussair Mazraoui and Diogo Dalot have been highly impressive in the full-back spots. Matthijs de Ligt and Lisandro Martinez are looking solid at the heart of the defence.
With all four players technically capable of playing from the back, United look much more stable.
Onana was guilty of conceding poor goals in the Champions League last season. His blunders contributed to United’s early exit from the competition.
United netted 12 times in six games – the same as Bayern Munich, who topped the group. However, they conceded 15 goals – many of which were due to high-profile errors by Onana.
The Red Devils kick off their Europa League campaign against Twente Enschede on Wednesday.
They last won their continental trophy under Jose Mourinho in 2017. A Europa League triumph would be a massive step in the right direction for United and Erik ten Hag.
Stats from Transfermarkt.com.