Liverpool defender Andy Robertson joked that he owes Caoimhin Kelleher dinner after the goalkeeper’s heroics against Real Madrid. The Irishman made a crucial penalty save to deny Kylian Mbappe when the Reds had a slender one-goal lead during Wednesday’s Champions League showdown.
The 26-year-old dived to his left to keep out the France superstar with Liverpool extending their unbeaten record in the new-look format. Alexis Mac Allister handed Arne Slot’s side a deserved lead in the second-half before the Scot was penalised for a trip on Lucas Vasquez.
Robertson’s blushes were spared after a strong save from Kelleher, the Reds would go on to double their lead when Cody Gakpo rose highest to head home. In response to Kelleher’s post, the 30-year-old replied “Owe you dinner [green heart emoji].” And speaking after the 2-0 win, Robertson heaped praise on the goalkeeper.
“I thought Caoimhin was getting a bit bored, so I thought I might as well give my mate something to do,” he said. “Thankfully, that mistake didn’t get punished and we managed to dust it off and go again.”
As well as being swarmed after denying the former Paris Saint-Germain star from 12 yards, Kelleher’s teammates flocked to social media in support of the shot-stopper.
Captain Virgil van Dijk led the tributes with Luis Diaz, Ryan Gravenberch and Diogo Jota among those to comment. The standout performances from Kelleher, in the absence of Alisson Becker, pose a conundrum for Arne Slot with Giorgi Mamardashvili set to join the club next summer.
“I’m expecting every player to want to be the No.1, not only the goalkeeper, it’s up to the player if they accept their role”, the Dutchman said. “He’s accepted his role from the start to now, when he plays and even when he didn’t, it’s too early to think about next season.
“I want every player to want to play every season. It would be wrong if he would have come to me and said, ‘I like it that I’m on the bench today’, it’s normal, it’s about the attitude if you don’t play.
“That has been outstanding, from Lucho and Macca last Sunday, then they came in really strong, I saw the same with Dominik and Cody, they should have the eagerness to play but if they don’t, they have to act in a normal way, and that is what they all do at the moment.”