With Alisson sustaining an injury against Norwich City last night, Liverpool’s backup goalkeeper Adrian will have to stay between the sticks against Chelsea on Wednesday.
The Brazilian shot-stopper, who won the Premier League Golden Glove last season, sustained a calf injury during last night’s Premier League opener against Norwich City. He was replaced by Adrian who did not have much to do but couldn’t prevent Teemu Pukki from scoring the Canaries’ first goal of the season.
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The Reds eventually beat Daniel Farke’s side 4-1 courtesy of goals from Mohamed Salah, Virgil van Dijk, Divock Origi and an own goal from Grant Hanley.
Following the match, Jurgen Klopp confirmed on Liverpool’s official website that Alisson will miss Wednesday’s UEFA Super Cup clash against Chelsea in Istanbul. The German said: “Wednesday [in the Super Cup], he will not play – with all my experience, I can say that already. He is injured, for sure, so we have to see how much.”
With the Brazilian injured, Adrian will be in goal for Liverpool against Chelsea. The 32-year old Spaniard played his first Premier League match in nearly 15 months, having been used only for cup matches by West Ham last season.
Speaking of Adrian, Klopp told Liverpool’s official website: “He’s a very confident guy. I don’t think he wanted to sit only on the bench for the next couple of years, he made himself ready. If you are in a situation like this you want to have somebody who played in the league, who is experienced, he is 32 and a calm guy.
“He is good with his feet, how we saw, that is really important for us. [There are] a lot of good things. You still don’t want to have a situation where one goalie is fit, that’s how it is but we have to see.”
Wednesday’s Super Cup match against Chelsea will be Adrian’s first European game since a Europa League qualifier against NK Domzale in 2016.
The clash in Istanbul will be Liverpool’s third game where they will be without Alisson. The other two were cup matches against Chelsea and Wolves where the Reds did not have their strongest squad. However, this time, Klopp should field a first-choice lineup with the exception of the Brazilian.
