Caoimhin Kelleher must feel like the man at the moment.
The Cork man was drafted into the Liverpool team for a must-win clash in the Champions League and produced in spades. With his Liverpool side holding the slenderest of leads, his saves from Noussair Mazraoui and Klaas-Jan Huntelaar were magnificent.
His performance was recognised immediately after the match, with Jurgen Klopp rushing to embrace him as soon as the full-time whistle sounded.
In the BT Sport studio, three former England internationals were gushing about the keeper's performance.
"You can't help but smile!" @themichaelowen
"He's going to get more games." @petercrouch
"He produced for Klopp." @rioferdy5
That was a dream Champions League debut for Caoimhin Kelleher ☘️🔴 pic.twitter.com/6GlW3RHLRx
— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) December 1, 2020
Michael Owen's faith in football seemed to be restored by Kelleher, watching back the highlights and admitting that he "couldn't help but smile" at how Kelleher did.
Owen stated that it reminded him of how much it meant to him to play for Liverpool as a young player, that last night was a culmination of "twenty odd years of hopes and dreams".
The former Liverpool striker said that Kelleher, alongside other youngsters Neco Williams and Curtis Jones, was one of the heroes at Anfield last night.
Peter Crouch was similarly gushing about Kelleher's performance, also inferring that due to Alisson's injury worries, we could be seeing an awful lot more of Caoimhin Kelleher amidst the Liverpool first-team.
"For him to come in and play as assured as that, he's going to get more games," added the former Liverpool and Spurs forward.
Rio Ferdinand remarked that Klopp running onto the pitch to embrace Kelleher post-match marked not only his gratitude, but also vindicated his decision in starting Kelleher over Adrian.
"[Klopp] knows that it was a big pressure situation for his young player and he went out there and said 'Listen, you kept us in the game'".
With Alisson's injury woes, the man from Mahon looks primed to take the reigns as Liverpool's goalkeeper for the immediate future.
SEE ALSO: Jurgen Klopp Hails Caoimhin Kelleher After Champions League Clean Sheet
