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Jurgen Klopp says Caoimhin Kelleher’s “natural soccer ability” saw him come in for the injured Alisson instead of Adrian against Ajax on Tuesday.
Liverpool secured their qualification for the knockout stages of the Champions League with a 1-0 victory over Ajax, with enough Curtis Jones clever finish to pull them off.
READ MORE: Perhaps Curtis Jones has earned the right to be ‘arrogant’ …
And Kelleher stood out in his Champions League debut, making a key save in the 88th minute to deny Ajax the draw.
And Klopp says Kelleher’s “natural ability to play soccer” caused the 22-year-old to start ahead of the more experienced Adrian as Alisson’s substitute.
“Yes [Kelleher was fabulous]. I really think Adrian did an amazing job for us when he arrived at the end of last season, “Klopp told BT Sport.
“I don’t know how many clean sheets, the Super Cup final, the Champions League, were played everywhere. But now, in this game, we needed Kweev’s ability to play soccer, Kweev’s natural ability to play soccer.
“And since he’s also a very good blocker, we made that decision. Everyone is calm the moment they get the information, but there is a difference on the field.
“I’m very happy with how he handled it, how calm he was and how good he was. It was a good game!”
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