One Liverpool star has been branded ‘too good’ to stay at the club after his performance against RB Leipzig.
On Wednesday night, Liverpool continued their 100% start in the Champions League as they took on Bundesliga outfit Leipzig at the Red Bull Arena.
Darwin Nunez’s goal in the 27th minute was enough as Arne Slot’s men earned a hard-fought 1-0 victory.
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In the second half, Liverpool had to withstand a wave of Leipzig attacks as the hosts chased an equaliser.
However, Marco Rose’s men failed to break through the Reds’ defence thanks to a string of fine saves from goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher.
The Republic of Ireland international has been deputising for first-choice stopper Alisson Becker since the Brazilian suffered an injury during Liverpool’s 1-0 win over Crystal Palace earlier in the month.
After his fine performance against Leipzig, former Liverpool star Steve McManaman said that the club will have a decision to make come next summer.
The former winger believes Liverpool are lucky to have kept Kelleher at the club.
He said: “It’s almost disrespectful saying he’s a No.2. Of course, he plays second in command behind Alisson, but he has played too many games to be a No.2. He is an outstanding goalkeeper, outstanding when called upon.
“I think Liverpool have been very fortunate. He was called up on a young age and he stood up to it straight away. If he was 25 and he was now 28, they would have had to let him go. Because he jumped into the team when he was 21, they’ve allowed him to floruish.”
McManaman added: “The problem is going to be next summer because they have brought Mamardashvili and he won’t want to be a No.2. Alisson won’t want to be a No.2 and he (Kelleher) won't either. So decisions will have to be made.”
Speaking after the match, Liverpool boss Slot was full of praise for Kelleher.
The Dutchman said: “Very fortunate. It's also a normal thing at a club like ours that you have very good players in every position. Ali was out last season and out this season again. It's not only him. We have players who are not always in the starting lineup who did it again today.
“We're really happy for the win. We played a difficult away game against a group one team in Leipzig. We controlled the game in large parts apart from the last few minutes, We needed Virgil and Ibou and our goalkeeper. If we left this place with a draw then I would've felt we lost something.”
Topics: Liverpool, Football, Champions League
Marcus Chan