Caoimhin Kelleher may have played his last game of the season for Liverpool, with Jurgen Klopp confirming Alisson will start at Nottingham Forest in the FA Cup.
It has been a valuable policy for Kelleher’s development as he took the gloves from Alisson for domestic cup competitions, which led to a League Cup triumph in February.
But the Irish goalkeeper has been relegated to backup for the FA Cup, with Klopp revealing in his pre-Forest press conference that his No. 1 would start in the quarter-final.
“Oh, FA Cup is Ali,” he said when asked which of his goalkeepers would feature.
This represents a U-turn from previous, with Kelleher starting against both Shrewsbury and Cardiff in the earlier rounds, only dropping out for Alisson for the fifth-round win at Norwich due to the toll of the League Cup final.
Kelleher also started in the third-round victory over Aston Villa last season, before Alisson made his FA Cup debut in the fourth-round defeat to Man United.
Previously, Adrian started against Everton, Shrewsbury and Chelsea in the cup in 2019/20, and Simon Mignolet in the third-round loss to Wolves the season before that.
It is a strange change of pace from the manager, and a kick in the teeth for Kelleher, but it suggests that Klopp is eager to go as far as possible in every competition from now.
Liverpool do not play again until April 2 at home to Watford, with both Alisson and Kelleher due to depart for international duty after the trip to Forest.
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