Celtic goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel is currently out injured with a shoulder injury, aiming to be fit for the Scottish Cup final against Aberdeen at Hampden on May 24th. However, that hasn’t stopped him from topping a European top 10 list.
Schmeichel has incredibly topped the list for the highest percentage of accurate long passes in open play among goalkeepers in Europe’s top divisions during his time at Celtic this season.
Schmeichel completes 68.5% of his long passes in open play — a remarkable statistic for a goalkeeper, especially at a possession-based team like Celtic, where much is expected from the keeper in progressing play from the back.
Highest % of accurate long passes, Europe’s top divisions’ goalkeepers 💪
🥇 #KasperSchmeichel 🇩🇰 68.5%
🥈 #MarwinHitz 🇨🇭 64.0%
🥉 #AndreasHansen 🇩🇰 61.7%#Saipi 🇽🇰 #Bulka 🇵🇱 #Ederson 🇧🇷 #Jug 🇸🇮 #Andrew 🇧🇷 #Gorgelin 🇫🇷 #Butez 🇫🇷@CIES_Football & @impect_official 🥳 pic.twitter.com/84wLkUVn6x— CIES Football Obs (@CIES_Football) May 8, 2025
It also shows that Celtic are willing to mix it up and not always rely on short, sideways passes. Instead, Schmeichel has looked to play the ball further up the pitch to help create goalscoring chances — something that can only be seen as a positive for the Danish goalkeeper in his first season at the club.
Viljami Sinisalo has impressed in recent weeks during Schmeichel’s absence, and one aspect of his game that has stood out is his distribution from the back — something that has likely been worked on in training alongside the outstanding Stevie Woods, who has consistently proven to be an excellent goalkeeping coach.
