Ederson’s unique ability confirms why he should remain Manchester City’s first-choice goalkeeper

City of Manchester brought together a cast full of technique and talent. They have players who caress the ball as much as they hit it. They have those who are defined by the precision of their passes. They have a man who could be the greatest goalscorer of his generation.

And so the best penalty taker is… the goalkeeper? “He’s our best penalty taker,” he said. Pep Guardiola. “Along with Erling Haaland and Kevin de Bruyne.” Manuel Akanji restricted it further. “Ederson He is probably the best penalty taker on our team, Erling too”, said the defender. “When Ederson scores the penalty, I know it’s a goal.” Oscar Bobb felt he was at the top. “I think so,” said the winger. “I didn’t see Ederson make a mistake, so probably, yes.”

THE Community Shield it represented the triumph of a reluctant remnant. Ederson could have been found in Riyadh or Jeddah, not Wembley now. Playing for City pays well; playing in Saudi Arabia is even more profitable. An offer of Al-Nassr was rejected. Al-Ittihad were interested, and so was Ederson, in swapping the Mancunian rain for the Middle Eastern desert, but neither club met City’s asking price and both of his Saudi suitors have since signed other goalkeepers. Now the assumption is that Ederson will stay. The start of a new season could have marked City’s first game after the Brazilian Championship; instead, it could be yet another trophy that Guardiola attributes to his football goalkeeper.

Not the most celebrated: this is the Champions League, where Ederson’s late saves against Robin Gosens and Romelu Lukaku can be ignored amid impressions of inevitability about City’s triumph. Not by Guardiola. There are times when it seems like being City’s goalkeeper is the most lucrative of part-time jobs, given that they can spend much of the match as spectators. Guardiola might disagree with that: his emphasis on passing goalkeeping means that Ederson, a left-back with points in his youth, becomes the 11th outfield player.

This made him a pioneer in First Leaguea catalyst in the change of style under Guardiola. “We cannot understand this process that we have been going through for many years without Ederson: his charisma, his consistency,” said the Catalan on Friday.

One element has been added: his calm kicks. At Wembley, for the second time in four months, Guardiola put Ederson on for a pressure penalty: the fifth. He scored against Real Madrid, although City exited the Champions League anyway. He scored against Manchester United, although Akanji needed three more penalties to secure victory after Jonny Evans added to his effort.

The turning point, however, belonged to skills more typical of a goalkeeper: a raised right arm that deflected Jadon Sancho’s penalty onto the post as an early error by Bernardo Silva gave United the initiative. Penalties – at least the goalkeeper’s part – were not always Ederson’s specialty. In matches, he saved six and conceded 51. In Real Madrid’s penalties, however, he saved Luka Modric. If he stopped just one of United’s seven goals, they would miss two of their eight in total. That was enough.

And, Ederson might note, for the second time in two trips to Wembley, a City goalkeeper had a decisive impact on deciding the fate of a trophy. Stefan Ortega was partly to blame – although Josko Gvardiol was more to blame – for Alejandro Garnacho’s goal in the FA Cup final.

His replacement acquired a reputation as the best second choice in the business; someone with aspirations to be more than that. Meanwhile, the criticism is that Ederson saves few shots: his save percentage has fallen to 62 in the 2022-23 Premier League, the fifth lowest among 23 regular goalkeepers. But although he reached the age of 70 last year, when Stefan Ortega made the potentially title-winning save from Heung-Min Son at Tottenham in the penultimate game, there was the temptation to ask whether Ederson would have proved to be his savior in that way. City themselves know that Ortega is their best goalkeeper in one-on-one situations. When the German signed a new contract in the summer, the impression grew that Ederson could leave.

When Ederson looked shaky in pre-season, it may have created more competition. Guardiola invariably gives his backup goalkeeper the FA Cup – damagingly when Zack Steffen was Ederson’s replacement – ​​and Ortega also received last season’s Community Shield. In fact, Ederson had only played in one previous Community Shield in seven seasons at City.

But there was a decisive answer from Guardiola on Friday when asked who would start: Ederson. And although the city manager attaches less importance to the Community Shield than to any other trophy – it helps when you win so many more prestigious awards – it felt like a statement, a vote of confidence. Even though it was just an attempt to allow Ederson to regain his form and confidence after pre-season, it worked. And although penalties have been a problem at City for years, with a series of misses in matches, perhaps Guardiola has found his man for the fifth penalty in any shootout. And instead of a long walk from the center circle, he only has a few yards to go after facing one.