Tim Krul had a day to remember on Sunday.
The Newcastle United goalkeeper made a career-high 14 saves in his team’s 1-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League. His heroics spanned the entire game, as he turned away all of Tottenham’s goal-bound attempts. He broke the Premier League record for most saves in a game and rightfully earned “Man of the Match” honors for his performance.
One second-half sequence typified the Dutchman’s day. He denied Tottenham from scoring a certain goal in the 49th minute with a double save. First he knocked down Gylfi Sigurdsson‘s deflected free kick. Then Younes Kaboul arrived at the loose ball before anyone else, but Krul blocked the Tottenham defender’s effort before teammate Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa cleared the ball away.
Krul admits Sunday’s game was the best of his career but he thinks the 9th-minute save he made on Roberto Soldoado‘s shot was even better than that famous double save, according to Sky Sports.
“I think the first one, really — Soldado header” he said when asked which save was the best. “Especially with the sun, it was really low. It was difficult to see, and it just kick-started from there.”
“This is the highlight of my career,” he added. “That doesn’t happen very often, this type of game. Three points away at Tottenham is a fantastic result.
“I’m delighted. I’m over the moon. Hard graft, I think the boys worked their socks off again like last week [a 2-0 win against Chelsea] and we dug it out.”
Sunday’s game suggests Krul has fully recovered from the shoulder injury that sidelined him for the last five weeks of the 2012-13 season. He has played all 13 games in all competitions this campaign, and manager Alan Pardew hailed him as his country’s best goalkeeper and one of the Premier League’s leading shot-stoppers, according to the BBC.
“I think he is the best Dutch goalkeeper for sure and I think he is one of the best in the league.”
Krul’s performance could see his name return in the transfer-rumor mill. He was linked with moves to AC Milan and Arsenal last summer, but he says he is firmly committed to the club he joined as a 17-year-old in 2006.
Such speculation matters little at this point. With Krul’s help, Newcastle has emerged from a difficult part of the season with a fair deal of credit, having drawn against Liverpool and beaten Chelsea and Tottenham. The Magpies will ride their red-hot goalkeeper into the next phase of the season with their hopes of European qualification firmly intact.
See Krul’s double save below.
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GIF via Reddit/Soccer
