Goalkeeping coach Dave Watson has suggested that Guglielmo Vicario will be devastated after doing something incredible just before Tottenham Hotspur conceded their first goal against Liverpool on Sunday.
There were few positives for Ange Postecoglou to take from the opening hour at Anfield on Sunday as Spurs were blown away by the Reds.
Tottenham were looking to avoid a fourth defeat in a row, but Jurgen Klopp’s men were ruthless, with Mohamed Salah opening the scoring after 16 minutes with a header at the back post.
It came from a brilliant ball from Cody Gakpo, who cut inside from the left flank before clipping a beautiful cross towards the six-yard box.
Guglielmo Vicario got a hand on Salah’s header, but was unable to keep it out with the Italian seemingly falling backwards.
Guglielmo Vicario will be particularly disappointed with first goal Tottenham conceded against Liverpool
Speaking on Ben Foster’s YouTube channel, Dave Watson suggested that Vicario actually did superbly to get across his line so quickly as Gakpo’s cross headed towards Salah.
However, he then made two major mistakes which meant that the Egyptian’s header was always set to go in the moment he put it on target.
“You’d normally be saying at this point, goalies would be struggling to cover the ground and get across goal. He gets across goal really quickly, this bit here now is incredible, covered the goal,” he said.
“Now your problems start, you’ve covered the goal, you’ve transferred all your weight there, so there’s two points now, you’ve got to get into position as soon as Salah’s going to head it, hands can’t be low, have to be high. It’s a header or a volley contact, nine out of 10, the ball’s coming high into the goal, so you’ve got to raise your hands to give yourself a chance. But again, look at the weight transfer, shoulders behind the knees, sinking onto the heels, hand position low, you’re only going to do one thing.
“We’re not goalie-bashing here, we’re talking about detail. But he’ll be really disappointed in that goal, because he’s been a top, top performer for them this year, and I think because he’s transferred across the goal, he’s expecting to save it, but he’s never given himself a chance.”
Mohamed Salah’s goal does a good job of summing up Italian’s season so far
Like Tottenham, Vicario has had a really mixed year in the Premier League. Few would have known about the Italian before he was signed to replace Hugo Lloris last summer.
Vicario started the season brilliantly as Spurs helped set the pace in the league. It appeared that Tottenham had produced an inspired piece of business, signing the 27-year-old for just £17 million.
But his flaws have potentially been exposed in more recent months. Vicario does not look to be the strongest from set-pieces. And he obviously has to take his share of the blame for the fact that he has not kept a clean sheet in his last eight appearances.
As Watson’s assessment shows, he does a lot of really good things. But clearly, he remains a work in progress right now.