Caoimhin Kelleher is stepping between the sticks for Liverpool once again. Here’s how he’s done up to now.
An injury to Alisson Becker will put Caoimhin Kelleher in goal for Liverpool over the next couple of weeks. Jurgen Klopp has confirmed as much – the Irishman will get one of his rare opportunities for the Reds. So how has he done up to now? Kelleher has had a good few games now, even if he’s never been a regular. The goalkeeper has even snuck in some big moments and a trophy. It’s not bad for a number two who never gets a look-in as a true first-choice option.
As he prepares to show what he can do once again, here’s what you need to know about Kelleher’s record so far.
CAOIMHIN KELLEHER LIVERPOOL APPEARANCES That debut was in the EFL Cup and that’s where Kelleher has featured the most. 11 times in total – over twice as many as any other competition.
Next is a tie – the Premier League and the FA Cup. Klopp has put Kelleher into the mix five times in each. There have also been three Europa League games and two Champions League games.
KELLEHER’S CLEAN SHEETS But there have also been a couple in the Premier League and one in his two Champions League games. Another two have come in the FA Cup.
Of course, it’s important to note that Kelleher very rarely gets to play with a first-choice defence in front of him. While his clean sheet record isn’t remarkable, it’s also not particularly fair to compare it to senior players.
KELLEHER’S SAVE PERCENTAGE His save percentage in the EFL Cup, for instance, is 65.4 per cent. It’s not a truly horrible percentage and in the Premier League, that would see Kelleher 20th of all goalkeepers to play (22). That’s just 0.2 per cent behind Ederson, however.
For those wondering, Alisson is 1st this season with 78.8 per cent.
Perhaps it’s fairer to judge Kelleher on his Premier League and Champions League appearances. Those are games where he has played behind the first-choice defence and his numbers do rise as a result. In five Premier League games, the Irishman has saved 72 per cent of his shots. That’s very good and would be 8th amongst all goalkeepers this season. In the Champions League, Kelleher has saved 90 per cent across two games – saving nine of 10 shots on target.
KELLEHER’S PENALTY RECORD The first is for wins – Kelleher has won four penalty shoot-outs, more than any other goalkeeper in Liverpool’s history. He’s also saved six penalties in those shoot-outs, which is again a club record. LIVERPOOL’S RECORD WITH KELLEHER That’s a 61 per cent win rate, then. You can’t really hope for more than that, and it suggests that Liverpool are typically fine with their no.2 stepping in for Alisson.
Kelleher has now played 26 games for the Liverpool senior side, having debuted back in September 2019. Those appearances have come across various competitions, too.
Those 26 fixtures have brought about 10 clean sheets for Kelleher. Unsurprisingly, the bulk of those have come in the EFL Cup – five of them, in total.
This stat is a hard one to judge, for many of the same reasons as above. Kelleher doesn’t typically play behind Liverpool’s best defence and that leads to higher-quality shots against him.
Kelleher’s penalty-saving ability has certainly been put to the test at Liverpool. He’s competed in several shootouts and actually holds two records for the club.
Liverpool do win the majority of games that Kelleher plays in. Of his 26 appearances, they’ve won 16 and drawn another six – so they’ve only lost four times with him between the sticks.
