'Needed him': Arne Slot says he was delighted by what 'quality' Liverpool player did against Bournemouth
Today at 12:55 PM
Liverpool recorded a comfortable win over Bournemouth on Saturday to register their fourth win in five Premier League games.
The Reds had started the season excellently in August, but were hit with a sucker-punch last week as Nottingham Forest took all three points at Anfield.
Liverpool did bounce back admirably from that in midweek, beating AC Milan in the Champions League.
However, there was still a feeling of the loss against Forest lingering until they were able to put things right in the Premier League.
Thankfully, Liverpool did that on Saturday. Two first-half goals from Luis Diaz and another courtesy of Darwin Nunez were enough to hand the Reds the points at Anfield.
Despite the game ending 3-0, though, it was not as straightforward as the scoreline would suggest. Speaking after the match, Arne Slot admitted that Liverpool were a little indebted to goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher.
Arne Slot praises Caoimhin Kelleher display
Liverpool were rocked heading into Saturday’s game by the news that Alisson Becker has picked up an injury.
Alisson missed 10 games in the Premier League last season and has now already missed one this term, too. Luckily, Kelleher has a considerable claim to be the best second-choice goalkeeper in the country.
After what he produced during Alisson’s absence last season, there was little worry about Kelleher stepping in once again to face the Cherries.
The Irishman showed why Liverpool value him at £25m early on into the game. After making a slight error to give the ball away, Kelleher made an excellent save to deny Antoine Semenyo.
From there, made six further saves, with one in particular off the line from a rebound against Trent Alexander-Arnold standing out.
READ MORE: Liverpool’s player ratings as they beat Bournemouth 3-0 at Anfield
And asked about Kelleher’s performance by beIN SPORTS, Slot admitted that Liverpool had needed the back-up goalkeeper to be at his best.
“We have to give him credit because he made some very good saves,” gushed the Liverpool head coach.
“I also liked the way we defended in the end phase of the game with the blocks we had. I think Ibou Konate was a few times involved in that, so he got help from them as well.
“But we also needed Caoimh a few times with some very good saves,” Slott added, “So, it’s nice in that position to have more than one quality player.”
Who else stood out for Liverpool?
Just as was the case in Milan on Tuesday, Liverpool had good performances all over the pitch against Bournemouth.
As Slot points out, Kelleher was one of those and Konate was another. Between them, the defensive pair even took the spotlight away from Virgil van Dijk.
Ryan Gravenberch and Alexis Mac Allister were excellent in midfield once again as well, with the Kop trying out a new chant for Gravenberch to show their appreciation.
Elsewhere, there were one or two below par performances, unfortunately. Dominik Szoboszlai struggled to get going, while Mohamed Salah was blasted by Troy Deeney for a wasteful display.
In terms of Kelleher, it remains to be seen just how long Liverpool will need him for this time. But he looks certain to start Wednesday’s Carabao Cup game against West Ham at the very least.
