- West Ham United were beaten 3-0 by Southampton in the Premier League on Sunday
- Adrian made six saves in an impressive performance on an otherwise disappointing afternoon
- Spaniard has made a joint Premier League-high 24 saves in six appearances this season
On what was a gloomy afternoon for West Ham United, Adrian shone bright, and not just because he was wearing a luminous orange goalkeeper kit.
The Spanish stopper produced six fine saves to keep Southampton at bay and help his side avoid a heavier defeat at the hands of Claude Puel’s side.
In total, Adrian has made 24 saves in six Premier League matches this season – the joint-highest number in the Premier League alongside Burnley’s recent England call-up Tom Heaton.
On Sunday, after a very quiet opening 40 minutes, he was powerless to prevent the Saints going ahead as Charlie Austin’s first-time finish flew past him into the bottom corner.
Three minutes later, the No13 was in the right place at the right time to block Nathan Redmond’s low shot, which was destined for the bottom corner.
With Southampton continuing to create the better chances, Adrian was called into action twice in the space of 60 seconds shortly after half-time, holding a looping header from Jose Fonte before producing a far more difficult save to keep out Dusan Tadic’s shot with a strong left hand.
The goalkeeper was left isolated and blameless for Southampton’s second goal, which saw Tadic collect a pass from Austin in space, round the stopper and slot home.
With a little more than 15 minutes remaining, Adrian was back in the thick of things, saving another powerfully-hit shot from Redmond low at his near post, this time with his body.
Having saved again from Tadic, the 29-year-old’s sixth and final save of a disappointing afternoon came with four minutes of the 90 remaining, when he kept out an effort from Saints substitute James Ward-Prowse.
Unfortunately for the goalkeeper, his hard work went to waste as the same player converted Steven Davis’s cross to make the final score 3-0 in the second minute of added time.
Clean sheets have proved hard to come by for Adrian in recent matches, and he has not kept one since a 3-0 victory at West Bromwich Albion on 30 April – nine league matches ago.
However, in his West Ham career, the agile Spaniard has shown his ability to keep the ball out of the net by any means possible, and has been rewarded with 24 clean sheets in 96 Premier League appearances for the Club.
If he performs as he did against the Saints, Adrian could make that 25 in 97 when Middlesbrough visit London Stadium on Saturday afternoon.