Simon Mignolet praises Liverpool defence after opening day win

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The Liverpool stopper was pleased with the display the Reds gave as they got their Premier League campaign off to a winning start.

Liverpool goalkeeper Simon Mignolet was full of praise for the Reds’ defensive display at they came away from the Britannia Stadium with a 1-0 win.

The defence at Anfield has come under a lot of scrutiny over the past few seasons as they’ve been found to be leaky at the back, but Mignolet told the Liverpool Echo he was pleased the side didn’t give too much away.

He said: “The clean sheet was very satisfying. If we can defend well then we know we have the attacking quality going forward to score goals.

“We didn’t give much away and defended really well. Unlike the game here three months ago, we restricted them to very few chances and coped well with the pressure.

“We knew before the game what we would be facing. You have to be ready for that physical challenge and we showed we could handle it.”

In terms of attempts on goal, seven isn’t the biggest amount that Liverpool will face. There has been a reasonable amount of praise for how Liverpool defended yesterday, which saw two debutants in Nathaniel Clyne and Joe Gomez – while the under-fire Dejan Lovren was singled out for praise by Brendan Rodgers.

It is a pretty high number of clearances and tackles accuracy for the Reds. There was the odd hairy moment when the defence did look a little vulnerable as new players were bedding in, and there was a new look to the midfield that was shielding them.

Overall, there was a lot to be positive. Collectively there were aggressive and didn’t shy away from the task in front of them, and seemed to preserve their shape pretty well. The challenge for Liverpool now is to keep solid for the duration of the campaign, rather than just in the opening fixture.