[ad_1]
Liverpool goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher reflected on an “incredible” night after keeping a clean sheet on his Champions League debut when the Premier League champions beat Ajax 1-0 to advance to the knockout phase.
Curtis Jones’ second-half goal, following a mistake by Ajax goalkeeper Andre Onana, proved decisive as Liverpool edged out the Dutch champions after a great show of indifference in the first half.
Kelleher, the Republic of Ireland U21 goalkeeper, put on an impressive and authoritative display, making a series of good saves, tilting an effort from Noussair Mazraoui in the first half, stopping a shot from Antony in the 54th minute that was intended to the bottom corner and, best of all, a point-blank save from a Klaas Jan Huntelaar header in the final minutes.
“It was amazing to debut in a Champions League game, it was huge for me. Obviously the most important thing was getting the win and qualifying, which we did, so yeah, a great night,” Kelleher told BT Sport afterward.
Another magnificent save from Caoimhin Kelleher. #LIVAJA #UCL pic.twitter.com/pMakbOCDuZ
– RTÉ Soccer (@RTEsoccer) December 1, 2020
“I work every day in practice to make sure I’m ready when it comes to a game, luckily tonight I was able to make a few saves.”
News of Kelleher’s selection broke a couple of hours before kickoff, as a result of an injury to regular starter Alisson Becker.
Kelleher, who holds a Champions League medal as an unused substitute in 2019, had been retained as a third-choice goalkeeper behind Adrian, but his perceived superior skills with the ball at his feet have seen him leap ahead of the Spanish stopper. in the hierarchical order.
“It’s pretty easy for me, to be honest. The players in front of me, when the ball comes back to me, they always make easy choices and make my decisions a lot easier. It was easy for me with those players in front.” .
“We are not here just to participate, we want to push ourselves every day and play as many games as we can. You can see that we are making a difference and improving the team, so yeah, it’s good.”
Kelleher acknowledged that since word of his team spread, good wishes have been pouring in from Cork.
“My phone has been jumping since I walked in. But thank you very much to everyone who is there, to all the support and messages that I have been receiving, I am grateful for them.”
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp said it had been difficult to leave Adrian, but described Kelleher as a “great talent”.
FULL TIME: Liverpool 1-0 Ajax – Caoimhin Kelleher keeps a clean sheet on an unforgettable night for the Irishman at Anfield. #LIVAJA #UCL pic.twitter.com/VI95R0pLRz
– RTÉ Football (@RTEsoccer) December 1, 2020
“It’s a situation where I have to say that it was easy to decide for Caoimh, because he deserves it, but difficult to decide against Adrian because he has done well for us,” Klopp said of the decision.
“He did a very good job, but tonight we needed Caoimh’s package and he is a great talent, a very good shotblocker and a great footballer.
“In the end, it’s about keeping the ball out of the net and he did it twice and he did it exceptionally. Either he will sleep very well tonight or he will not sleep.”
[ad_2]