Gary Lineker has showered praise on Liverpool goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher as the Reds won the Carabao Cup beating Chelsea 1-0 at Wembley on Sunday afternoon (25 February).
The Reds have now won this competition ten times in their history but this will remain special for Jurgen Klopp who will leave the club at the end of the season.
Liverpool were missing a host of key players for this game, and Klopp was courageous enough to throw young academy talents into the mix. Every one of them was outstanding on the night as the win provided hard evidence of the golden future Klopp has laid out for his successor.
Virgil van Dijk scored the only goal (another goal from the Dutchman was ruled out) deep in the second half of the extra time as Liverpool picked up their first trophy of the season.
Lineker was heavily impressed with Kelleher who made a string of great saves during the game. The BBC pundit says the 25-year-old was “superb” last night.
Speaking on The Rest Is Football podcast, Lineker made a point about Kelleher while he was raving about Virgil van Dijk.
“He [Virgil van Dijk] was brilliant but I would also have to say behind him, what a performance from Kelleher! Superb, isn’t he?”, said Lineker.
Van Dijk hails Kelleher as world-class
Kelleher has been outstanding for Liverpool over the years, and Van Dijk hailed him as a “world-class” player after the game.
He has mainly played as a second fiddle behind Alisson, and probably at some point, he might think of leaving the club in search of more first-team appearances.
The Ireland goalkeeper has made five starts in the Premier League this season and he is set to continue for a while with Alisson not expected to return before the international break.
Against Chelsea, he made some incredible saves that kept Liverpool in the game and deserves high praise from popular pundits like Lineker.
