Liverpool vs Chelsea in the UEFA Super Cup: 5 talking points

#5. A tale of two goalkeepers

Adrian holding the Super Cup with pride

Both Adrián of Liverpool and Kepa Arrizabalaga of Chelsea had very good games in the Super Cup final but with contrasting fortunes as the former saved the final penalty against Tammy Abraham to win the game for Liverpool.

Kepa went from hero to zero for Chelsea. He made an outstanding double save in the 75th minute, first going down sharply against Mohamed Salah’s deflected shot to his left. The second save was even more spectacular as he tipped Virgil van Dijk’s close-range effort onto the crossbar.

At the end of the game, the Spain international had made 9 saves. Nonetheless, he was unable to save any shots in the penalty shootout despite getting his hand to the shots from Divock Origi and Trent Alexander-Arnold.

Meanwhile, it was Adrián’s first start in any match since January when he made an FA Cup appearance for his previous club, West Ham, who were defeated by AFC Wimbledon by 4 goals to 2. Today, he replaced first-choice goalkeeper Alisson (who is sidelined with a calf injury) and contributed heavily to a European final victory for Liverpool.

Adrián made smart saves against shots from Mateo Kovacic and Tammy Abraham. His most impressive stop was denying Mason Mount’s bending shot, which was about to nestle in the top right-hand corner of the net if Adrian had not punched it away. The goalkeeper conceded a controversial penalty in the first half of extra time after he was seen to make contact with Chelsea’s Abraham with VAR’s approval of the referee’s decision. However, Adrián had the last laugh after his right leg stopped Abraham’s tame effort in the penalty shootout. What a night for Adrián, the penalty shoot-out hero for Liverpool.