Sky Sports pundit wants Liverpool players to protect teammate ‘as much as they can’

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Adrian is set to replace the injured Alisson Becker in between the sticks for Liverpool.

Stephen Warnock wants Adrian to be protected by his Liverpool teammates ‘as much as they can’ as he is set to start their Champions League encounter against Atletico Madrid, as he told Football Centre on Sky Sports (09/03/20 at 10:45 am). 

Following Alisson Becker’s injury, Adrian, who joined Liverpool as a back-up in the summer, is set to start their second-leg encounter at Anfield – a much tougher test than the one he faced over the weekend against Bournemouth. 

This is a crucial clash for the Reds because if they fail to beat the La Liga club then their defence of the Champions League would have ended at the first knockout hurdle. 

Former Reds defender, Warnock, thinks that the Spanish shot-stopper is a more than ‘capable’ keeper, but he feels that he needs protecting by those in front of him. 

“I believe he is a more than capable goalkeeper of coming in,” Warnock told Sky Sports. “The big worry I have, it’s not a worry, but when I think of Liverpool’s win against Barcelona. Alisson made three or four unbelievable saves in the game that kept them with a clean sheet.

“Will Adrian be able to do the same thing? Will he be capable of making the saves that Alisson made? I am not too sure that he will.

“But then it’s up to Liverpool’s defence to protect him as much as they can. But he’s more than capable because he is a very good goalkeeper.”  

When Adrian first joined Liverpool, he perhaps couldn’t believe his luck because he was a free agent after leaving West Ham as the Champions of Europe came knocking, but he has played more than he would have first imagined. 

In Liverpool’s first game of the season – their home win against Norwich City – he came off the bench after Alisson sustained an injury.

He has also played cup games in between, and once again, Alisson’s injury has opened the door for him. But his recent mistake at Stamford Bridge will still be in the back of his mind.