After five seasons at the club, it appeared like everything about Ederson had already been apparent.
The Brazilian goalkeeper has shown himself on a weekly basis to be fit enough to play despite any knocks, good enough with his feet to transform not only Pep Guardiola's team but the way goalkeepers are analysed in the Premier League, and also mortal enough in his shot-stopping that attacking players know if they get a sight of him they have a decent chance of scoring. The good has outweighed the bad to the tune of four league titles in five years and three successive Golden Glove awards for Ederson boasting more clean sheets than any of his rivals.
That does not make him immune from criticism though, and City's frustrating habit of conceding from their first shot on target in games this season has strengthened the argument for a sizable, vocal number of supporters online that improvement is needed. Despite the clamour for No.2 Stefan Ortega to get a chance, Guardiola recently outlined why he has 'no doubts' over Ederson.
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It hardly needs elaborating on why given the success the team have had with their keeper over the last five years, yet at the same time, he showed against Newcastle why his skills should not be taken as fixed. For all the consistency that Ederson has shown in what he can and cannot do so well, there is always time to change.
The shanked passes that littered his display against Newcastle were certainly a novelty, the 29-year-old uncharacteristically shelling balls wide of teammates in each half. But after so many years, one off-day on distribution is certainly allowed.
More interesting was the goalkeeper's command of his area. Ederson is never really known for coming out of his six-yard box when crosses come into the box yet twice in a minute against Newcastle he first punched the ball clear and then came out to try and catch when it came back in.
What Ederson and the rest of the defence did was enough for the keeper to notch his 100th clean sheet in the Premier League, and in just 208 games - faster than anyone else bar Petr Cech and Pepe Reina. If Cech's total of 202 seems a stretch to reach, there are plenty of goalkeepers Ederson could yet surpass.
Time will tell whether more aerial challenges are a new aspect of Ederson's game or whether he reverts to type, but it is interesting in a season where he is under more pressure for his place in the team than ever before to find one of the longest-serving players at the club trying something different. A keeper that has always been about his feet tried to let his hands do the talking instead for a change.
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