Adrian had a moment to forget during his first Premier League start for Liverpool on Saturday.
Kevin Kilbane has slammed Adrian for ‘needlessly’ passing out from the back which cost Liverpool a clean sheet during their 2-1 win against Southampton over the weekend.
The Reds were leading the contest 2-0, but Adrian, who nearly got caught out earlier on in the game, was closed down by Danny Ings, who pounced on his poor pass to slot home what turned out to be a consolation.
Adrian is only starting for Liverpool because regular shot-stopper Alisson Becker is currently on the sidelines with an injury, as he will be hoping to be making a return sooner rather than later.
Speaking on Final Score on BBC One (17/08/2019 at 5:15 pm), former Everton man Kilbane was critical of Adrian’s display at St Mary’s, as he feels he ‘struggled’ during the game.
“We know now the way modern-day goalkeepers are asked to play out, but that was needless,” Kilbane told Final Score. “There were options for him if he opened his body up. He tried to be a little too clever and play through Danny Ings.
“He doesn’t look comfortable and he didn’t look comfortable all through the game. He struggled and he made a dreadful error. Adrian certainly had a nightmare. One to forget.”
It has been a huge step up in a short amount of time for Adrian because earlier on in the summer he was a free agent looking for a new club.
But the departure of Simon Mignolet meant that the Reds needed a backup keeper so they looked in the direction of Adrian, who has Premier League experience having played for West Ham.
He was needed by Klopp pretty quickly because Alisson injured himself in the first half of their opening Premier League encounter against Norwich City.
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