Caoimhin Kelleher made his long-awaited return from injury today as he completed 90 minutes for Liverpool U21s.
As per liverpoolfc.com, the Irish goalkeeper played full game for the Young Reds as they were held to a 1-1 draw with Arsenal.
It was Kelleher’s first minutes on the pitch since playing for his country in June. After picking up an issue during that game, he’s now finally getting closer to a first team return.
Harvey Blair got Liverpool’s only goal of the game as they pegged Arsenal back for a share of the spoils at Kirkby.
Kelleher back, but for how long at Liverpool
It has felt like a long time since we’ve seen Kelleher in a Liverpool kit. Not only has he been missing since June, but his last game was actually the Carabao Cup final back in February.
That was a massive high point of the 23-year-old’s young career. But he hasn’t been given a chance to kick-on from it.
Such is the life of back-up goalkeeper, though. Kelleher isn’t a back-up to any old first choice ‘keeper either, he’s the No.2 to one of the very best around.
Alisson Becker once again underlined his importance to Liverpool today. The Brazilian may have been beaten three times by Leandro Trossard, but he kept his team in it with three more enormous stops.
Simply put, there’s no getting past Alisson. Opposition attackers have known that for years, and Kelleher has probably long realised that, too.
As a result, we may not see him turn out too many more times for Liverpool. The Irishman will be crucial if the Reds are to have a run at the domestic cup competitions again, though. As Jurgen Klopp said via liverpoolf.com, Kelleher is an ‘exceptional’ goalie.
Beyond the cups though, it’s hard to see how he’ll pick up too many more appearances in Red.
So, it’s best to enjoy Kelleher while we still can. No doubt the youngsters benefitted from his enduring calmness in goal this afternoon. Hopefully it now won’t be too long until the more senior players can feel that tranquil presence themselves.
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