Caoimhin Kelleher stat shows why he's Liverpool's perfect cup keeper

Caoimhin Kelleher is set to take up his place as Liverpool's cup keeper this Wednesday night as Liverpool travel to Bournemouth.

The 24-year-old Irish stopper started in the previous round of the Carabao Cup as the Reds saw off Leicester and has played two of three in the Europa League so far (only missing the other through injury).

Now in his fifth season as a Liverpool first-teamer, Kelleher has only made a quarter of a century of appearances total, such is the life of the backup goalkeeper.

Yet, the Ireland international, who is under contract until 2026, remains trusted by Jurgen Klopp, even being given the captain's armband for the final ten minutes of that win over Leicester earlier this season when Curtis Jones was substituted.

While never a serious contender to unseat Alisson as Liverpool's number one (but, let's be honest, no-one is), Kelleher has still forged an important role at Liverpool as a cup keeper, having (largely) shone when given opportunities.

Klopp's show of faith in Kelleher extended all the way to the Carabao Cup final in 2022/23, with the young keeper becoming the hero on that day in February as he netted the decisive penalty in the shootout against Chelsea.

It's Kelleher's penalty record (generally saving rather scoring) that has made him a useful asset for the Reds to call upon in knockout games.

With six stops, no Liverpool goalkeeper in the club's history has saved more penalties in shootouts than Kelleher.

The Irishman overtook Pepe Reina to lead the club charts when he kept out an impressive three penalties as Liverpool defeated Derby in the Carabao Cup last season.

Impressively, that day saw Kelleher become the first Liverpool keeper to win four separate penalty shootouts (the others coming against Arsenal, Leicester and Chelsea in the same competition).

He is, obviously, also the only goalkeeper for the Reds to ever score the winning penalty in a cup final, as he did in 2022.

Kelleher could be required to extend his penalty-saving record on Wednesday night. With no replays in the competition, the game will go directly to a shootout, if the scores are level after 90 minutes.

Hopefully, that won't be needed, but if it is, Liverpool are in safe hands.