Darwin Nunez and Ibrahima Konate wildly celebrated one standout moment from a Liverpool teammate in Wednesday night’s 2-0 win over Real Madrid.
In between the decisive goals from Alexis Mac Allister and Cody Gakpo, there were missed penalties at either end of Anfield, with the visitors the first to fluff their lines as Kylian Mbappe’s spot kick was saved by Caoimhin Kelleher.
When a goalkeeper stops an opponent’s penalty during a match, it’s a common sight to see them instantly congratulated by several teammates, and the Irishman was shown plenty of appreciation by his fellow Reds.
After the 26-year-old had pushed the ball out to safety, Nunez sprinted over to him and gave him a chest bump so fierce that it’s a surprise Kelleher didn’t fall down.
As if that wasn’t wild enough, Konate jumped in between the two Liverpool players almost as if he were trying to break up a fight, hitting off the Uruguayan in the process despite his probable intention being to congratulate the netminder.
The wild celebrations from the Reds striker and centre-back were surely being replicated among the home fans in attendance at Anfield as, for the second time in four days, the goalkeeper pulled off a penalty save – this time without any rebound being steered past him.
In fact, when including his two appearances for Republic of Ireland this month, Kelleher has now saved three penalties in four matches for club and country in the space of a fortnight, having thwarted Joel Pohjanpalo from 12 yards in his nation’s victory over Finland in Dublin.
Steve McManaman seemed to suggest last night that the 26-year-old could now be regarded as the ‘equal’ of Alisson Becker, such has been the magnificence of his performances in deputising for the Brazil number 1 over the past few weeks and also for a couple of months last season.
Nunez and Konate absolutely loved the save from Mbappe – so did we all!
You can view Nunez and Konate celebrating Kelleher’s penalty save below, via @drwnunez on X:
nunez and kelleher after the penalty save pic.twitter.com/HxOFBEZPbP
— hae (@drwnunez) November 27, 2024
The post (Video) Liverpool teammate’s heroics evoked wild reactions from Darwin Nunez and Ibou Konate appeared first on The Empire of The Kop.
