Jurgen Klopp admits Caoimhin Kelleher’s inclusion for Liverpool against Ajax was ‘easy’.
Kelleher kept a clean sheet on his Champions League debut as the Reds edged out the Eredivisie leaders courtesy of Curtis Jones’ second-half strike.
The Republic of Ireland under-21 international stepped into fold after Alisson was stood down as a precaution over a hamstring issue picked up at Brighton.
Klopp explained on Tuesday that handing Kelleher a rare starting berth over the Brazilian’s understudy Adrian was just reward for the third-choice stopper.
He said: “It is a situation, which I have to say, it was easy to decide for Caoimhin because he just deserves it.
“But it was difficult to decide against Adrian because he did really well for us: a lot of clean sheets last year, Super Cup final and all these kind of things.
“He did a really good job, but tonight we needed the package of Caoimhin.
“He is a top talent anyway, but a really good shot stopper and a top footballer, so I like that.
“We needed that for the pressing of Ajax, we needed his chips from him into the half-spaces and these kind of things.
“That was really good, but of course in the end it is all about saving, keeping the ball out of the net, and he did that at least twice in an exceptional manner.
“I am pretty sure he will either sleep really well tonight or not at all, but he will enjoy both.”
The win over Ajax not only ensured Liverpool’s progress to the last 16 of the Champions League but also guaranteed their place as Group D winners.
Klopp even made the bold claim that the result was one of his side’s best-ever in Europe’s elite club competition since taking the reins over five years ago.
“They were all great but it was all in different circumstances, that’s how it is,” he explained.
“We had supporters in [before]. If someone thinks now that I like that more than a game with our supporters in, that is of course not the case.
“But we don’t have supporters in the stadium and then the difficult situation that we are in, winning that game 1-0, making a lot of changes…
“I don’t want to say it because I just hope that it can carry on.
“The kids played exceptional, the front three defended like devils from all directions. That’s all so important and the two centre-halves were there when we needed them.
“It’s not now that we played the best football ever, it’s about ‘this is the situation you are in, that’s what you make of it’.
“In the end, we are top of the group after matchday five. We have never been that before, so that’s really good and for us unbelievably good.”