Alisson Becker put Caoimhin Kelleher in his box and Darwin Nunez may follow him out of the door after Liverpool sealed another win in the Champions League.
Arne Slot‘s unwavering insistence on playing his best available players with Liverpool sitting pretty at the top of the Champions League group stages haunted the Dutchman last month as Ibrahima Konate and Conor Bradley suffered injuries in the 2-0 win at Real Madrid.
Despite this, the Liverpool head coach revealed he would “start with a very good team” against Girona as there is “no reason to rotate” with “everyone ready”.
This proved the case as his four changes saw Luis Diaz, Dominik Szoboszlai, Trent Alexander-Arnold and an injury-free Alisson replace Cody Gakpo, Alexis Mac Allister (suspended), Jarell Quansah and Caoimhin Kelleher after the latter four players started the 3-3 draw at Newcastle United.
The weekend postponement of the Merseyside derby – that forced us to rely on AI for 16 conclusions – provided Liverpool’s players extra recovery time after their intense thriller at St James’ Park, but it meant they were somewhat undercooked against Girona as the Spanish outfit provided a stern test for the visitors.
Liverpool dominated the opening ten minutes without causing the hosts too many problems, though the run of play was much different for the remainder of the half as Girona grew in confidence. They had more shots on goal in the opening half than mustered by any of the English side’s previous opponents in this season’s Champions League.
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Relative minnows Girona are not as strong as last season after having one or two of their best players plucked away in the summer and their first XI was littered with Premier League has-beens, while former Watford attacker Yaser Asprilla sparkled.
The best of Girona’s chances, unfortunately for them, fell to former Everton, Tottenham Hotspur and AFC Bournemouth winger Arnaut Danjuma, who remains just as rash in front of goal as he often was in the Premier League.
Liverpool were given a boost pre-match as Alisson returned to full fitness after being out since September with a hamstring injury.
Slot’s side managed just fine without one of the world’s best goalkeepers as they also have one of the world’s best backup ‘keepers.
Barring a rare mistake in the draw at Newcastle, Kelleher did not put a foot wrong while he deputised for Alisson and kept five clean sheets to help Liverpool further establish their dominance in the Premier League and Champions League.
Kelleher has made it abundantly clear that he wants to be a No.1 and his stunning form for Liverpool in recent weeks led to a clamour from some quarters for him to remain in the sticks when Alisson returns.
To the frustration of the Republic of Ireland international, Slot restored Alisson into his starting XI at the first opportunity and the 32-year-old justified this decision against Girona.
A spirited performance from the Spanish side – plus Liverpool being slightly off their best – meant Alisson was busier than he perhaps would have expected in his first game back.
None of Alisson’s saves were breathtaking and he would have been criticised had he failed to stop any of the shots he faced, but he oozed calmness and did everything asked of him on an uncomfortable evening for him and his side.
Kelleher must have been watching on glumly from the bench knowing that another injury for the Brazil international is likely required for him to get another run in the team this season.
Harsh as it sounds, Kelleher is will never consistently be Liverpool’s No.1 while Alisson – or his eventual successor Giorgi Mamardashvili – is around and the 26-year-old’s exit in 2025 remains inevitable.
The proposed Chelsea was initially scoffed at and deemed unfeasible, though this potential £35m deal could suit all parties and tick a box required for Enzo Maresca’s side to continue their charge to Premier League and European glory.
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Tuesday’s match in Girona was also concerning for striker Darwin Nunez.
The constant comparisons to Manchester City star Erling Haaland are as consistent as they are needless with the two forwards clearly very different types of strikers.
Nunez’s work rate is at a much higher level than Haaland’s, while the Man City player – even amid his and his side’s ongoing woes – is far more clinical in front of goal.
There was more evidence of Nunez’s wastefulness against Girona as he could and perhaps should have come away with a couple of goals.
His best chance came as a deflected looped cross from Szobszlai gave the Uruguay forward a free header inside the penalty area, but he failed to get clean contact on the ball. Moments later, he was fed in on goal but former Spurs goalkeeper Paulo Gazzaniga – who had a good evening – stood firm to keep out the striker’s effort.
Nunez was withdrawn with 20 minutes remaining and this change could have easily come sooner as the forward – who is clearly devoid of confidence – failed to make the most of his opportunity from the start.
With Diogo Jota joining Alisson in returning from injury, Nunez looks certain to be Slot’s fifth-choice attacker during the festive period and it’s currently difficult to see him proving Jurgen Klopp right after Liverpool’s former boss defied a ‘data warning’ to sanction his £64m arrivalen route to expected sanctioning of a cut-price sale for a sure-fire upgrade.
Nunez’s blushes were somewhat spared by Liverpool’s star man – Mohamed Salah – as his 63rd-minute penalty earned Slot’s side a narrow 1-0 win at Girona, who lacked the quality to break their superior opponents down as they passed up several openings.
While certain performances in this match did not bode well for two Liverpool stars, Slot will be satisfied that his side – once again – managed to win ugly, did not pick up any injuries and built some momentum before an even tougher test at the weekend at home to Fulham.