How David Raya made one of the best double saves in Champions League history

With the game appearing to drift away from Arsenal in Bergamo on Thursday night, goalkeeper David Raya stepped up to make an extraordinary double save from the penalty spot to keep the Champions League game with Atalanta evenly poised at 0-0. Here, Telegraph Sport breaks down what may just be one of the greatest pieces of shot-stopping in Champions League history.

A quiet word on the touchline

While the video assistant referee was confirming the penalty, Raya had left his penalty area and was having a quiet word with goalkeeping coach Iñaki Caña on the touchline. Caña had fought hard to bring Raya to the club and the duo have a close working relationship. Raya had a similar conversation with Caña before his heroics against Porto last season, and after the chat he returned to his line.

Some brief mind games

Few penalties can take place without the goalkeeper trying to put the striker off and Raya did so extremely briefly with Mateo Retegui, taking his time to get back on his line and clapping his hands repeatedly.

The first save

Raya is conscious of the need to have a foot on the line when the penalty is taken, so he kept his left foot planted as he shifted forwards, putting his weight on his right leg. He then sprung to his right to save Retegui’s well-struck effort, almost diving past the ball – which meant it bounced down and then back up towards the Italian.

‌The recovery

Goalkeepers spend much of their time working on getting back to their feet after making a save, and this is why. Raya is unusual in that when he needs to change direction on the ground he often spins around on his backside. Allowing him to plant his feet and spring back in the direction he wants to go. That is exactly what he did on this occasion, and when he plants his feet to spring back up they are both outside the far post. As he is starting to recover his ground the ball is coming back down towards Retegui, who seems certain to score.

‌The second save

Retegui’s header is powerful and low, although if you were being critical you could say it should have been further in the corner. Even so, Raya still has an incredible amount of ground to make up, which he does so with one giant spring towards the ball. He meets the ball on the line, and is at full stretch when he pushes it away to complete a sensational double save.

The celebration

Declan Rice manages to get the ball out for a corner, and Raya celebrates in full as he is mobbed by his team-mates after completing one of the best Champions League saves in recent years.‌

The view from the press pox

As a football reporter, it is important to stay calm in the press box. In the unwritten rules of English football journalism, the only accepted reaction to events on the pitch is to calmly type on your keyboard or scribble in your notepad. Loud noises, it almost goes without saying, are totally forbidden.

There are occasions, though, when an involuntary response bursts out. This can happen with a late goal, or a stunning strike that comes from nowhere. Very very rarely, it can even happen with a save.

I can recall two occasions in which I have audibly gasped at a save I have just seen, and both have happened in the past two weeks: David Raya against Aston Villa, and David Raya against Atalanta. I can’t remember seeing a better save in the flesh than the one Raya produced here in Bergamo on Thursday night, diving to his left after leaping to his right to stop Retegui’s penalty.

The comparisons

The obvious starting point is a save Raya made already this season, against Aston Villa in the Premier League. On that occasion Raya sprang back to his feet after a shot hit the bar, getting back up to claw Ollie Watkins’s header away (watch below). This was similar but perhaps even better due to the fact that Raya had to turn around completely to make the save on this occasion.

Another Arsenal goalkeeper pulled off an extremely similar save back in 2012, when Wojciech Szczesny twice denied Liverpool’s Dirk Kuyt (below). That was a spectacular save, albeit the header was travelling slightly slower than on this occasion. Either way, it was the latest highlight in what has been an incredible start to the season by Raya.

Elsewhere in the Champions League, there is Lyon goalkeeper Grégory Coupet’s extraordinary double save against Barcelona in the 2001-02 season (below). The first save was an incredible header onto his own crossbar after defender Cacapa had accidentally lobbed him. Rivaldo got to the ball first and headed powerfully towards the corner, but Coupet managed to recover and dive to push the header away.

The 2005 Champions League final is memorable for many reasons, but one of those was Jerzy Dudek’s double save from Andriy Shevchenko (below). The first was when he pushed away a close range header, before getting up to somehow push the rebound over the crossbar with his arm for a sensational stop.