Football
ESPN staff 9y

Joe Hart, Man City Premier League Rank, No. 30

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Welcome to ESPN FC's #PremRank.

Beginning May 25, ESPN FC is counting down the top 50 players in the Premier League right now, as voted for by various columnists, editors and analysts. Who makes the cut? Disagree with our list? Tell us on Twitter using the hashtag #PremRank.

Why Joe Hart makes the list

The decline suffered by Manchester City as they surrendered their Premier League title has been highlighted by the prominence of Hart in their story this season, with the England goalkeeper back to his very best as he did all he could to cover up the flaws in a creaking defence.

City boss Manuel Pellegrini dropped this shot-stopper from his first team for a spell last season, but he has been back to his best in recent months and was rewarded for his revival with a new contract that was duly signed last December. Hart's stand-out display this season came in City's Champions League last-16 defeat against Barcelona, with his acrobatic efforts inspiring Barca star Lionel Messi to say the 28 year old is one of the best keepers in the world after what he described as a 'phenomenal' performance.

The first-choice keeper in the England national team has backed up that performance with a host of impressive saves over the course of the season, notably denying Swansea's Federico Fernandez in May, and while City had plenty of regrets as they failed to win a trophy, their No. 1 can reflect on a campaign that has confirmed his status among the best keepers in the game.
-- Kevin Palmer

The stats that tell the story

- Led the Premier League with 14 clean sheets this season, becoming the first keeper to win the Premier League Golden Glove four times. Is now the 14th keeper with 100 Premier League clean sheets.
- Conceded 5.3 goals fewer than expected this season based on the shots he faced. That's the second-best total in the league, behind West Ham's Adrian.

What the experts say

"Swansea wouldn't give up and it took an incredible one-handed stop from Hart to prevent Federico Fernandez from equalising with eight minutes to go. Another fine stop denied Bafetimbi Gomis moments later." -- Iain Macintosh, May 2015.

"A great left-handed save from Jonjo Shelvey proved to be just a hors d'oeuvre for an incredible elastic leap to deny Federico Fernandez's free header toward the end. Possibly the save of the season." -- Simon Curtis, May 2015.

"In truth though, City could have no complaints, except perhaps for England keeper Hart, who made at least six excellent saves in the second half to save his side from being routed." -- Dermot Corrigan, March 2015.


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