Liverpool boss Arne Slot speaks after the Premier League clash with Bournemouth at Anfield
Arne Slot admitted Caoimhin Kelleher’s excellent display against Bournemouth vindicated Liverpool’s decision to keep him at Anfield this summer.
The Irishman was forthright when he was asked about his Liverpool future earlier this month, having been the subject of a late bid from Nottingham Forest in the summer transfer window. “I’ve made it clear in the last few years that I want to go and be a No. 1 and play week in, week out,” Kelleher said while on international duty with Ireland.
“The club’s made that decision to get another goalkeeper (Giorgi Mamardashvili), and from the outside looking in, it looks like they’ve made a decision to go in a different direction.”
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While Kelleher’s frustration was understandable, the fact that Alisson Becker was forced to miss Saturday’s 3-0 win over Bournemouth with a hamstring injury points to why the club were so keen to keep the Ireland international beyond last month’s deadline day.
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Kelleher was solid when called upon against the Cherries, rushing out to smother a first-half shot from Antoine Semenyo before later saving from both Justin Kluivert and substitute Luis Sinisterra.
Asked whether his performance showed why Liverpool need two accomplished goalkeepers, Slot said: “Yes. But not only two good goalkeepers – two good left-wingers, two good right-wingers, two good strikers and that’s what you saw today. I just said about Cody (Gakpo) how good he was at the San Siro, how good Lucho was now and it’s the same with the goalkeepers.
“We needed our goalkeeper today more than in all the other matches we had played before. Bournemouth had more chances than I’m used to seeing the other team getting against us in the first six games of the season.
“It was good we had Caoimh today because he made some really good saves which Alisson did in the other games as well but he didn’t have to make as many as Caoimh had to make today.”
