Adrian made a bad mistake against Southampton but the example of Alisson shows the feeling should be relief.
Liverpool were cruising 2-0 at Southampton when Adrian kicked the ball straight into Danny Ings. It rebounded into the goal, setting up a tense finish and worrying fans.
They’ve seen their goalkeepers make bad errors before, after all. Far too often, really.
Adrian is in the spotlight now while Alisson is out but this mistake was, honestly, well-timed. He’s not used to playing aggressive, possession football and on that basis, a mistake was likely to come.
As we saw with Alisson, it’s best it comes now. The Brazilian started brilliantly last year then made a terrible mistake against Leicester City, giving a goal to Jamie Vardy – as Jurgen Klopp pointed out.
Liverpool held on to win that game 2-1, however, much like they did on Saturday. Alisson learned from it and it never happened again.
We don’t know how long Alisson will be gone for and Adrian may be between the sticks for a while. If that is the case, it’s best he learned from the mistake now, in a game Liverpool had won, rather than later when it could have mattered.
Alisson proved that last year and Adrian can follow that example this campaign.
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