Having kept a clean sheet, smashed his penalty into the top corner, and won the League Cup, nobody can blame Liverpool goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher for letting his emotions get the better off him.
The Irish shot-stopper was given the nod ahead of Alisson Becker for Liverpool’s League Cup final against Chelsea.
Considering it was the Reds’ first major final this season, it was a bold decision from Jurgen Klopp to deploy the 23-year-old ahead of his usual No.1.
However, the German’s move paid off, as Kelleher made vital saves from Christian Pulisic and Romelu Lukaku, before convincingly dispatching his penalty against his Chelsea counterpart Kepa Arrizabalaga.
But as joy and elation continued to pump through his veins, Kelleher, in similar vein to Klopp after Liverpool's 4-0 victory against Barcelona, briefly forgot his media training as he accidentally dropped an F-Bomb live on Liverpool TV.
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Kelleher responded to a tongue in cheek suggestion stating he should perform a song for the rest of the Liverpool players by saying “F****** h***” while laughing to himself.
He was excused by the presenters who cited the evident joy and emotion of the occasion causing his very brief faux pas.
Fortunately for the Irishman there was no need for any apologies for his performance at Wembley.
Similarly, to Chelsea goalkeeper Edouard Mendy, Kelleher enjoyed a truly spectacular display against the reigning Champions League holders.
He was called into action almost immediately when Pulisic forced him into a fantastic point-blank save when he got on the end of Cesar Azpilicueta’s cross.
And in the dying moments of the 90 th minute, Kelleher showed excellent braver and positional awareness to smother Lukaku’s effort when the Belgian was only a few yards from goal.
And to top off an unforgettable performance, Kelleher smashed home Liverpool’s eleventh penalty, before Kepa, who was brought on for Mendy specifically for the penalty shootout, sent his spot-kick over the crossbar.
“I was dreaming good things last night, that we would win, but never in my wildest dreams would I have thought I’d score a penalty at the Liverpool end, the winning penalty. That’s just next level,” Kelleher also said to Liverpool FC TV.
When asked about his successful penalty, Kelleher added “To be honest, I was going to go the other side.
“As I ran up I just saw out of the corner of my eye that he [Kepa] was diving that side, so I just wrapped my foot around it. I didn’t mean it to go that high, to be honest.”
Kelleher was part of the Liverpool squads which have won the Premier League and the Champions League.
However, he played all but one match in the Reds’ League Cup triumph this season, as Klopp opted to rest Alisson for the domestic cup matches.
And Kelleher praised the Reds’ Brazilian goalkeeper, emphasising the support he has afforded him during the competition.
He is brilliant. You saw Chelsea change their goalkeeper at the end as well, so for me to get the faith from the manager was special and Ali has just been great with me,” Kelleher added.
“There was no sulking or anything like that, he’s totally focused and he has been really helpful for me.”
