Liverpool goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher endured a disappointing end to his international break as Ireland lost 2-0 to Greece.
Kelleher has been backed to succeed in Alisson’s absence, with the former set to feature heavily for Liverpool in the coming weeks.
The latter is currently out with injury, with Arne Slot set to turn to Kelleher in an attempt to fill the void effortlessly.
Liverpool should be glad they didn’t sell Kelleher in the summer transfer window, with the deputy now desperately needed at Anfield.
But he may have mixed feelings about his return to Merseyside, having won one and lost one of his matches with the Republic of Ireland over the recent break.
Ireland’s press review Liverpool goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher
Kelleher played as Ireland beat Finland 2-1 on Thursday, with his nation then losing out to Greece on Sunday.
And he had a mixed night in terms of how Irish national media viewed his performance, with the goalkeeper having made a string of impressive saves before a late error to gift the hosts their second goal.
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Giving Kelleher a 6.5/10 rating, Balls wrote: “Made a superb point-blank save to deny [Giorgos] Masouras early on. He followed that up with an even better double save ten minutes later.
“Kelleher was outstanding in the first half, responsible in no small part for keeping Greece scoreless despite the immense pressure being piled on the Irish goal. He was reliable throughout, which made his late error all the more baffling. His rating takes a significant hit purely for gifting Greece their second on the night but he was outstanding for the majority of the game.”
The Irish Mirror opted for a 7/10 rating, saying: “The Liverpool goalkeeper kept Ireland in the game in the first-half and could do nothing about the opener – but loses a mark with his error that gifted Greece their second.”
And the Irish Examiner agreed with a 7/10, commenting: “Corkman made three really good saves in the first half but there was nothing he could do about the deflected opening goal and he was too careless in giving away possession for the second – although the game was gone by that point.”
He clearly outshone all of his teammates in terms of the official Man of the Match award, which went his way on the night.
Can Liverpool number two Caoimhin Kelleher impress under Arne Slot?
Kelleher is all too familiar with having to come in for the injured Alisson, having played that role on multiple occasions under Jurgen Klopp.
This time, he has a new manager to impress, although Slot should have very few worries given the goalkeeper’s track record.
Alisson will be a huge miss for Liverpool, but the Anfield faithful are well aware just how fortunate they are to be able to welcome Kelleher into the fold.
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He is, however, simply too good to regularly warm the bench, with a Merseyside exit very likely in the near future, with Liverpool open to selling Kelleher for £25million.
But for now, he can be expected to get plenty of playing time under Slot in what is going to be a key period for the club in their overall season.
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