Caoimhin Kelleher produced a wonderful second-half save to keep a clean sheet and give himself a dream European debut for Liverpool against Ajax.
Kelleher's instinctive point-blank save from Klaas-Jan Huntelaar's thumping header, pushing the ball strongly past his post, denied Ajax their best chance of an equaliser.
The game finished 1-0 to Liverpool thanks to Curtis Jones' first Champions League goal - a deft outside-of-the-boot finish. But it was Kelleher who had LFC fans delighted with an assured display which saw the Reds qualify for the knockout stages in first place in Group D.
The Irish youth international came into the team due to a minor injury to Alisson Becker, expected to keep the Brazil No 1 out for around two weeks.
Advert
Adrian has deputised for Alisson in the past, but this time Jurgen Klopp decided to push Kelleher into the limelight.
He rewarded his manager with an assured display. Kelleher pulled off an athletic stop in the first half as Ajax pressed in an end-to-end game and he simply did not put a foot wrong throughout the night.
Advert
Klopp, when he made his way onto the pitch after the victory, headed straight for the young keeper and embraced him in a giant bearhug.
"It was an amazing moment for me to make my debut," he understated post-match, with a 2,000-watt grin plastered across his face.
Assuming Alisson is also absent for the weekend game against Wolves, it would be no surprise to see Kelleher make his first Premier League start to go along with his dream UCL debut.
Advert
Featured image credit: BT Sport
Featured Image Credit:Topics: Liverpool, Football News, Football, Jurgen Klopp, Champions League
