Richard Dunne was full of praise for one Liverpool player following Thursday night’s 4-0 win over LASK and seemed to hint that his Manchester United counterpart could learn a thing or two from the man in question.
Caoimhin Kelleher took his familiar position between the sticks for Europa League duty, with the microscope firmly placed on him amid the injury to Alisson Becker, and the 25-year-old rose to the task by keeping a clean sheet and making some important second-half saves.
Speaking on Virgin Media Sport, Dunne pointed out the contrasting fortunes of his fellow Irishman and Andre Onana, who endured an error-strewn game for the Red Devils in the Champions League the previous evening.
The ex-Manchester City defender said of Kelleher [via Balls.ie]: “He looked very comfortable in what he was doing. He looked well prepared and like he had been training well. His positioning is good, he seems to be in the right place at the right time.
“All the way through everything that happened to him, his movement and positions, was really good throughout.
“[LASK] had a few opportunities. There was 15 minutes where Liverpool sort of took their eye off the ball a bit. When you have a goalkeeper that makes saves like that, it breeds confidence into your defence.
“All of a sudden that panicky 15 minutes, like you see with Man United, the panic doesn’t go until they concede and then they attack again. Liverpool sort of shielded it out for 15 minutes, with the help of Caoimhín Kelleher.
“When there is no pass on, he will kick it as long as he can up the middle of the pitch. Play football as much as you can, but play it without risk. That’s what he did tonight.”
READ MORE: (Image) Curtis Jones heaps two-word praise on Liverpool teammate who won 6 duels v LASK
Liverpool were largely comfortable during their 4-0 win over LASK, but it certainly wasn’t as if Kelleher was an idle bystander at Anfield last night.
As per Sofascore, the 25-year-old made three saves and overperformed on his xG conceded by 1.25, facing six shots from the Austrian visitors during the second half and making particularly good stops from Ibrahim Mustapha and Robert Zulj.
While the Irishman stood tall whenever LASK posed questions of him, Onana was found wanting during United’s 3-3 draw against Galatasaray on Wednesday, being culpable of errors for two free kick goals and beaten on his near post for the Turkish side’s equaliser.
It was a game in which Erik ten Hag’s side looked comfortable when leading 3-1 early in the second half, but a fateful nine-minute period in which they conceded twice leaves them on the brink of Champions League elimination.
It’s hard not to be struck by the contrast in how Kelleher’s performance radiated confidence when Liverpool were briefly under the cosh last night, compared to the shakiness from Man United as they let two points slip in Turkey.
Reds fans may have a wry smile at the thought of our second-choice goalkeeper showing up his first-choice counterpart at Old Trafford!
#Ep96 of The Empire of the Kop Podcast: EOTK Insider with Neil Jones🎙️