At the Vitality Stadium, James Trafford was picking the ball out of his net as Leeds United went down a goal against Bournemouth.
The English shot-stopper played a poor ball out from the back, which Justin Kluivert cut out before playing it across for Evanilson to tap it in. Ultimately, we never got back into the game and ended up losing 2-0.
Fast forward a week, and Trafford made a crucial save in the 94th minute to deny Rodrigo Bentancur and keep his clean sheet intact as we walked away with all three points.
To say the 24-year-old rebounded emphatically after his disappointing performance against Bournemouth would be an understatement. Trafford reminded us all of the quality he possesses as he still leads the Premier League in a key statistic.
James Trafford still leads the Premier League and Europe in an incredible goalkeeping statistic
Last week, Steven Gerrard acknowledged that ‘keepers such as Trafford will always make a mistake at some point in a season due to the risks they take on the ball.
But if anyone tuned in to our game at Elland Road over the weekend and were oblivious to the Bournemouth result the week before, you’d have never guessed that Trafford was coming off the back of making a critical error.
He was back to being his usual composed self on the ball, but notably he didn’t take too long on it, as we have seen at times in recent weeks.
Following Trafford’s performance against Spurs, Opta’s Jonny Cooper posted a remarkable statistic about our £40million man.
52 goalkeepers have played 10 or more games in Europe’s top five leagues this season, and Trafford leads the way as the goalkeeper with the highest save percentage at 81.4%
So whilst some may have begun to doubt Trafford slightly after the Bournemouth game, this stat is another reminder that we have a top-class goalkeeper on our hands.
Data suggests James Trafford was sensational against Spurs
Whilst Trafford’s impressive save percentage is a reflection of all his Premier League appearances this season, when you dive into his numbers specifically for our game against Tottenham, they are remarkable.
In total, Trafford made four saves, with three of those coming from shots inside the box.
He made one high claim during the game, one punch and all four of his run-outs were successful.
Trafford also finished the game with a goals-prevented total of 1.42 and completed all 11 of the passes he attempted in his own half. (Sofascore)
To see the demons from the Bournemouth game put to bed so quickly by Trafford is a very encouraging sign and yet another reason why he will likely go on to be a world-class goalkeeper at some stage.
Now, our shot-stopper is set to go back on international duty as he continues his quest to become England’s number one.
And after his performance against Spurs, Trafford should be walking into camp with a pep in his step.
