Liverpool needed penalties to see off League One Derby in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday with goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher the hero of the shootout.
Kelleher became the Liverpool goalkeeper with the most penalty wins (four) and the most penalty saves (six) in club history after the clash and continues his impressive displays from last season in the competition.
The Irishman played in every Carabao Cup match last season and was the hero in the final, scoring and then seeing the next penalty miss as the Reds lifted the first of their two trophies.
Klopp praised Kelleher after last night’s win and said the club will never stop him.
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Jurgen Klopp praises young Liverpool goalkeeper
Speaking after last night’s game, Klopp had high praise for Kelleher when asked about the Reds’ goalkeeper, saying via the Liverpool Echo: “Tonight was three really good penalties. They all went to the corner and he saved them anyway. That’s huge.
“We never hold him back or say, ‘Caoimhin, you can’t play.’ It is exceptional, absolutely exceptional.
“He hasn’t had the best season so far because he came back from vacation and got injured. She took a long time to get back into training and get back up to speed. But obviously he is already ready.
“The goalkeeping coaches are doing an incredible job. He is their product, and I’m sure they would say the exact same thing. What they do with it, they develop a modern goalkeeper. As cool as you want, he can play football and on top of that he can catch balls and keep the ball out of the net in a really good way. That’s really good.
“I’m over the moon for him, that he can have these situations. He is a down to earth guy, though he rarely smiles. When he smiles, it means a lot to him. Really cool.”
