Frederik Ronnow was the steely foundation upon which Union Berlin's historic top-four finish was built. - © DFL
Frederik Ronnow was the steely foundation upon which Union Berlin's historic top-four finish was built. - © DFL
bundesliga

Frederik Ronnow, Yann Sommer and the Bundesliga's top 5 goalkeepers in 2022/23

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Union Berlin's Frederik Ronnow outperformed the likes of Yann Sommer and Gregor Kobel in 2022/23, but who else were the league's best-performing goalkeepers? bundesliga.com crunches the numbers...

1) Frederik Ronnow (Union Berlin +9 keeper efficiency)

Having spent last season playing second fiddle to Andreas Luthe, Ronnow took the number one spot at Union ahead of the 2022/23 Bundesliga campaign and only relinquished the gloves on five occasions - all due to injury. And the Denmark international's excellent performances helped Union make history by reaching the UEFA Champions League for the first time in their history. He tops the list, with his 93 saves across 29 top-flight appearances outdoing his xSaves by nine.

2) Mark Flekken (Freiburg +7.5 keeper efficiency)

The Netherlands international leaves Freiburg this summer having come so close to pipping Ronnow and Union to a top-four place. A fifth-placed finish - and spot in the UEFA Europa League - was fine reward for a fine season, though, and Flekken's contributions between the sticks were significant. He made a whopping 114 saves - 7.5 more than his xSaves number - and kept 13 clean sheets. Not only was that the most in the division, it also equalled the club record set by Richard Golz (2000/01) and Oliver Baumann (2012/13).

Mark Flekken leaves Freiburg this summer having equalled the club record for most clean sheets in a single Bundesliga campaign. - Christian Kaspar-Bartke/Bundesli/Bundesliga Collection via Getty

3) Koeen Casteels (Wolfsburg +6.5 keeper efficiency)

Flekken was the only 'keeper to earn more clean sheets than Casteels (12) in 2022/23, with the Wolves stopper among just seven goalies to make 100+ saves. His 103 stops ranked fifth-highest in the division and was 6.5 more than the projected 96.5, according to the 30-year-old's xSaves rating. His run of five clean sheets out of six across victories from Matchday 12 to 17 was particularly impressive.

4) Yann Sommer (Bayern Munich, +6.1 keeper efficiency)

Having started the season with Borussia Mönchengladbach, Sommer ended it in goal for Bayern and with a first Bundesliga title in his safest of hands. That move came after a star turn for the former against the latter on Matchday 4, which saw Sommer set a new Bundesliga record for most saves in a single game (19). He made the fewest saves on this list (85), but outperformed his xSaves by more than six stops.

Watch: Yann Sommer - one of the Bundesliga's best

5) Gregor Kobel (Borussia Dortmund, +5.8 keeper efficiency)

Kobel was outstanding for Dortmund as BVB came up agonisingly short in a thrilling title race. He saved 73 percent of the shots aimed at him in 2022/23, a return only bettered by Ronnow (77 percent) across the entirety of the top flight. The 25-year-old Switzerland international made 88 stops in total, compared to his xSaves prediction of 82.2. There were also 11 clean sheets, a number than ranked Kobel third for total shut-outs.

Watch: The best of Gregor Kobel

Top 5s 2022/23