Harry Diamond
Jurgen Klopp has praised ‘incredible’ Liverpool goalkeeper Adrian after the Spaniard’s performance in the club’s UEFA Super Cup victory over Chelsea.
Deputising for the injured Alisson, Adrian made the decisive save from Tammy Abraham’s spot-kick to secure a 5-4 shoot-out win for Liverpool, the game having finished 2-2 after extra time in Istanbul.
Klopp was full of praise for the goalkeeper’s performance following the win, the 32-year-old having only joined the club on a free transfer last week.
“He played an incredible game, he had sensational saves,” Klopp said in his post-match press conference.
? August 5: Adrian signs for Liverpool on a free having been without a club all summer ✍️
? August 9: Adrian makes his Liverpool debut ?
? August 14: Adrian wins the #SuperCup for Liverpool ?
Not a bad nine days, @AdriSanMiguel! ? pic.twitter.com/mIwwtmjdYz
— Goal (@goal) August 15, 2019
“Both goalies had that, but maybe from Adrian it’s a bit more surprising because it was without pretty much any preparation. I don’t know when he played the last game for West Ham, to be honest, so it’s a while ago. Being ready like he was ready tonight is incredible.
“He’s not only on the pitch a great person, he showed me already that he’s a proper personality in the dressing room as well. He was maybe louder than I was at half-time. I was not loud because I wanted to give some information, but he was really on his toes and that was good. It’s important and it helps us. He deserves that.
“Of course in penalty shootouts it’s always lucky, but his performance over the 120 minutes was incredible. Making the save for the penalty is the icing on the cake and is wonderful.
“I saw now one time that he could really grab his towel before he started celebrating. That’s special as well, so he’s obviously quick in mind and knows what he wants to do. He helped us a lot and he can be really proud of what he did tonight.”
Liverpool 2-2 Chelsea: UEFA Super Cup player ratings
See also – Five things we learned from the UEFA Super Cup