Credit: Imago/BBC Match of the Day

Scott Mason

Sun 15 March 2026 8:10, UK

Joe Hart felt that Mads Hermansen was one of the biggest factors behind West Ham United’s crucial point against Manchester City.

The Danish goalkeeper has had a mixed campaign in E20. After arriving from Leicester City, the 25-year-old immediately took the reins as number one from Alphonse Areola.

However, as results failed to fall the Hammers’ way in the opening four games of the season, Graham Potter would turn back to the Frenchman.

While Potter was sacked, Nuno Espirito Santo arrived and decided to stick with Areola.

That was until the beginning of February, when Hermansen was given a chance to show his qualities. The former Leicester shot-stopper has certainly taken his chance in recent weeks.

Hermansen’s performance for West Ham against Man City was the icing on the cake on Saturday, highlighting how important he can be in the final months of the campaign.

What did Joe Hart say about Mads Hermansen against Man City?

As Man City peppered the West Ham goal with shots, Hermansen kept his cool. The Irons conceded 24 shots to Pep Guardiola’s side on Saturday.

With that level of threat, if Nuno wanted to secure a result, he needed his goalkeeper to step up, and according to former Hammers and City goalkeeper Hart on Match of the Day, he did just that.

Hart said: “You are going to need your goalkeeper to play well to get a result against Manchester City. Hermansen had a few really good moments.

“Haaland, we expect him to score, but that is an excellent save.”

The Hermansen save in question also left Joe Cole stunned, as it was a chance Premier League fans had seen Haaland score multiple times before.

The numbers also back up the fact that Hermansen was key. He made five saves, prevented 0.86 goals and made 10 recoveries as per Sofascore.

The numbers behind Mads Hermansen’s West Ham impact

Hart is correct about Hermansen’s performance against Man City and that he stepped up when they needed a result.

And that has been the case ever since he came back into the team.

In the six games since he usurped Areola, the Irons have conceded just eight goals, and that includes the one-game blip when Liverpool struck five.

In that run of games, the Irons are averaging 1.3 goals conceded per game. In the 20-game Premier League run when he was the West Ham number two, that figure stood at 1.75 goals conceded per game.

Additionally, while it may be a short sample size, the recent displays of Hermansen have led to a 1.5 points per game tally.

Beforehand, in that aforementioned 20-game run, that figure was 0.7 points per game.

If Hermansen can continue his performances in net and keep this trajectory for West Ham, then the Irons are projected to end the season on 41 points.

You would expect that points total to be enough to stay in the Premier League, although nothing can be guaranteed at this stage.