Reaction'A big result' - Caoimhin Kelleher and Alexis Mac Allister on Liverpool 2-0 Real Madrid
Mac Allister opened the scoring in the Champions League contest with a smart finish in the early stages of the second half and, soon after, Kelleher preserved the Reds’ lead by saving a Kylian Mbappe penalty.
Then, after Mohamed Salah had missed from the spot at the other end, Cody Gakpo headed home to secure a fifth win from five European outings this season for Arne Slot’s team.
Post-match, Kelleher and Mac Allister spoke with TNT Sports. Read their reaction below.
Alexis, does a goal against clubs such as Real Madrid mean a little bit more?
Mac Allister: “Yes, of course when you play against teams like Real Madrid it’s always nice to score but the most important thing is that we won it and I think in a really good way. We dominated the game, we deserved it, so we needed a couple of times this guy [Kelleher] but thank God that he was there and he really deserved it.”
Caoimhin, what is going through your mind when you see Mbappe stepping up to take a penalty?
Kelleher: “For me, I don’t really look at the player too much. Obviously I felt confident, I’ve saved two in the last week or so, so yeah, I was confident and thankfully I went the right way again.”
With Gakpo getting the other goal tonight after coming off the bench, does that show how important the whole squad is?
Mac Allister: “Yeah, that’s what we try and what we say in the dressing room. We know that players that come in are really important to finish the games and if you want to win trophies, you need them. Of course, you don’t want to be on the bench but we know that every guy here, when he comes in, does his best for the team.”
Does it feel like a statement victory to beat the holders?
Kelleher: “Yeah, obviously it’s a big result. It was a massive game for us, obviously they got the better of us the last few times in the Champions League so we wanted to come out here tonight and put on a performance and I thought the lads did really well.”
You’re the only team to have a 100 per cent winning record in the Champions League this season so should Liverpool be spoken about as one of the favourites to win the competition?
Mac Allister: “I don’t know. I mean, it is nice but at the same time it means nothing because it’s just the first phase. So, we are happy with our performances, that’s the most important thing, and we will keep going.”
On whether it feels like the Reds ‘can beat anyone right now’ ahead of Manchester City’s visit on Sunday…
Kelleher: “Yeah, obviously I think confidence is high within the whole squad but we know Man City, they have not been on the best run at the moment, but what a team – so we’re going to expect a really tough test again and it’s important that we keep winning in the league as well to keep that gap as well. So, we’ll build on this, it’s good confidence for the team and we’ll try to go again.”