Although Liverpool thrashed West Ham on Wednesday night, they will perhaps have been a little disappointed not to keep a clean sheet.
Having conceded just two goals in six games so far under Arne Slot, the Reds have turned defending into an art form once again.
Key to keeping that record intact against Bournemouth on Saturday was Caomihin Kelleher.
Kelleher has had to stand in for the injured Alisson Becker and was badly needed against the Cherries. Without Kelleher Liverpool could have had a tricky day at the office.
On Wednesday, the Irishman was not needed quite so much. He did have to pick the ball out of his net early on, but there was nothing Kelleher could do about Jarell Quansah’s unfortunate own goal.
From then on, it was really the work of the Liverpool defence which kept West Ham at bay, with one player going above and beyond to help his goalkeeper.
Caoimhin Kelleher thanks Kostas Tsimikas
Liverpool still faced 12 shots against West Ham but, crucially, only three of them were on target.
Those statistics do not account for what was probably the Hammers most dangerous moment of the game at Anfield, though.
With Liverpool 2-1 up, the ball broke loose to Max Kilman just outside the six-yard box.
Having just saved from Michail Antonio, Kelleher was on the ground, Kilman only had to sort his feet out to get the shot away and surely score.
READ MORE: Jamie Carragher says one player was linking up so well with Kostas Tsimikas against West Ham
But Kostas Tsimikas had other ideas. After Kilman poked it around him onto his right foot, the £12m man launched himself into a headlong dive to try and block the inevitable shot.
In the end, Tsimikas’ efforts seemed to put the West Ham centre-back off. He hesitated to pull the trigger and stumbled, the ball rolling out of play for a goal kick.
It was a bizarre moment from Tsimikas who was ready to get any part of his body on the block. And that’s exactly what the Greek suggested on his Instagram stories after the game.
“For my family,” wrote Kostas, sharing a photo of the incident, a smile and a crossed swords emoji. Taking to his own social media, Kelleher responded with a “Cheers mate,” crying laughter and a love heart.
Kostas Tsimikas goes full John Terry
There’s no question that Kilman should have scored here. Had he have done so, perhaps the whole tie would have been different.
Instead, Liverpool soon got their third and pulled away from then on. It was a big moment.
Tsimikas does deserve plenty of credit for his part in putting off Kilman, though. The full-length dive was unorthodox and did block the defender’s path to goal.
In many ways, Tsimikas’ efforts were reminiscent of a famous moment from John Terry while playing for England at the 2010 World Cup. Terry launched a diving header along the ground at a Slovenia shot in the England penalty area.
Neither Terry nor Tsimikas got anything on their respective blocks, but they did show that they are prepared to give everything for their teams. Big respect, Kostas!
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