If there has been one invariable certainty at Atlético de Madrid in the last decade, it has been Jan Oblak. He arrived at the rojiblanco club in 2014 with the mission of having to replace Thibaut Courtois, who returned to Chelsea that summer after three splendid years playing on loan at the Vicente Calderón. In a few months, after starting the season as a substitute for Miguel Ángel Moyáthe Slovenian managed to ensure that no one remembered the now injured Real Madrid goalkeeper.
From then until today, the day when Atlético receives a visit from Celtic in the Champions League (21.00 hours), Oblak has made history in the rojiblanco club and in Spanish football. Five Zamora trophies prove this, since he is the one who holds the record in the track record, shared with Antoni Ramallets y Victor Valdes. It’s a legend, it’s Slovenian, but…
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His performance against Las Palmas
All of the above serves to explain that Oblak, today, is not at his best. Feelings say it, which is still pure subjectivity, like in that second goal conceded against UD Las Palmas on Friday in which it is not daring to say that he could have done much more, but also his numbers. Are they especially bad? No, they are not, but given the performance excellence to which the goalkeeper has accustomed the world, there are figures that attract extraordinary attention.
Let’s see. This course He has conceded 16 goals in the 14 games played by Atlético, 11 from LaLiga (the postponed one against Sevilla is pending) and three from the Champions League. That equates to an average of 1.16 goals per game. Among those who have played more than seven games this season, only Kepa, Bravo, Alvaro Valleys and Mamardashvili They improve their record in Spanish football. And yet, this is Oblak’s worst record since he played for Atlético de Madrid.
Only the 2021-22 season, in which he conceded 1.12 goals per game, is close to the numbers that the Slovenian is now producing. In the rest of the season, his record was always below 0.82 goals conceded per game. That is to say, he now concedes around half a goal more per 90 minutes of play than has been the norm in his career.
Fewer concierges than ever
This also causes his clean sheet rate to be the worst of his years at Atlético. This course has only been achieved in 28.6% of the matches (4 of 14)when his poorest ratio until now was 31.4% and in his first five seasons in Madrid he left his goal unbeaten in more than half of the games he played.
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Several factors explain these numbers. But one is obvious: Oblak for less than (almost) never. The Slovenian has repelled or blocked 39 of the 54 shots on goal that he has received in this initial third of the season, a success rate of 70.4%. Again, the 21-22 season is the only one that is similar to this one and in this case it even makes it worse, since then it remained at 69.2% stops.
He concedes more goals than he should
The advanced statistics also point you out, according to the records of the FBref portal. According to the calculations of this website, fed in turn by data from Opta, Oblak should have conceded 13.7 goals, depending on the quality of the shots known as “expected goals”. That is, he has conceded 2.3 more goals than would be expected.
But you can also guess the influence of some factors more external to his individual work between the sticks. It is no secret that Atlético’s football has turned in recent months towards a more associative and daring stylemoving away from the strength and stinginess that Atlético has had in many phases of Simeone’s time at the head of the team.
This is reflected in the fact that Oblak is now completing more passes with his foot than ever. He had never gone above 66% and now his success rate rises to 75.6%, expanding his success mainly in long passes. He averages around 17 passes per game when in many of the previous seasons he had not reached ten.
Best passer and worst stopper. That is the present of an Oblak who will turn 31 in January and who is having a hard time adapting to the new winds blowing in the Metropolitan. Although he continues to be as essential for Simeone, and for all the red and white fans, as the first day he took over from Moyá, nine years ago.
2023-11-07 06:40:24
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