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Caoimhin Kelleher is trying to take his rise through the pecking order of the Liverpool goalkeeper in his wake.
The U21 international from the Republic of Ireland has made his debut in the two most important competitions in club football, the Champions League and the Premier League, with two clean sheets after putting on another composite display in the win by 4 -0 on the Wolves.
Kelleher, who only turned 22 two weeks ago, replaces the injured Alisson Becker, who was promoted to number two ahead of previously established Adrian.
He has not put a foot, nor a glove, badly in 180 minutes, while also making great saves, including one to deny Daniel Podence in the first half in front of a Kop that had, for the first time since March, fans in attendance. .
But the Cork man is also doing a good job keeping his feet on the ground.
“I’m just trying to be there for the team to help them in those moments and luckily again I was able to make those saves and get a clean sheet,” he told Liverpool’s official website.
“Getting a clean sheet, for me and the four behind, is the most important thing for us. So we did our job.
“From the first minute we were really on fire and we played very well. It was first class.
“We scored four goals, maybe we could have done a few more as well. It was a great team performance in every aspect.”
It was a fitting way to mark the chance to have a following, albeit only 2,000, back inside the stadium to see the summer Premier League winners for the first time.
“Obviously it was amazing. It’s been so long without them that it felt a little strange to see them, but it was such an incredible feeling to have them back in the stadium,” added Kelleher, who may find himself back in a more familiar situation. Bench position for Wednesday’s Champions League game against Midtjylland.
“The support they give, honestly, is of a different kind. You saw how we perform when they’re there, so having them back was a huge advantage.”
The return of the fans was one of the many positive aspects that Kelleher’s performance included, in a game in which Liverpool had so much control that victory seemed easy.
Coach Jurgen Klopp struggled to choose an element that pleased him the most on a night that also returned from injuries to Trent Alexander-Arnold and Naby Keita.
“A lot of great individual performances, from the young guys it was really cool,” said the Reds boss.
“Neco Williams, we just took off because obviously the Wolves’ plan was to bring (Adama) Traore down the left wing and maybe Neco will foul one more and then maybe get the second yellow.
“That was the only reason; he played very, very well.
“Sadio also had some moments where he controlled, I still don’t understand how he can do that, this kind of thing.”
For the Wolves boss Nuno Espirito Santo, it was a daunting display.
He knows he has to find a way to get around the unfortunate problem of not having key forward Raúl Jiménez, who is recovering from a skull fracture suffered in the previous Wolves game.
“Not having Raúl is a blow. We were trying to occupy the same position with different players, but we couldn’t do it,” he said.
“But we must find solutions within the team so that we can continue to progress. That is the situation now, so it is up to us to find the right solutions.”
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