Arne Slot has acknowledged that despite Caoimhin Kelleher's sterling performances, Alisson Becker will reclaim Liverpool's number one spot once he recovers from his injury.
The Irish goalkeeper held a resilient guard between the sticks in Alisson's absence, earning a second consecutive clean sheet during Liverpool's successful 2-0 encounter with Aston Villa, contributing to the team's strengthening grip on the Premier League summit.
With goals from Darwin Nunez and Mohamed Salah bolstering their lead, Liverpool have now enjoyed victory in 15 out of 17 matches under Slot's helm. Amidst his series of starts due to Alisson's hamstring woes since early October, Kelleher has secured three clean sheets, posting his first in the Premier League in the latest match.
Trent Alexander-Arnold injury latest as Arne Slot offers update on Liverpool ace - 'Always serious' I heard blunt Kyle Walker and Pep Guardiola messages that say it all about huge Liverpool chanceHowever, Slot made it crystal clear that the goalkeeping reins would be handed back to Alisson following his return after the November international break. "First of all, Alisson needs to become fit," emphasized Slot.
"I have always been quite clear, that's always been the position of Alisson. He is and will be our first goalkeeper if he is fit. But first he needs to be fit," Slot said.
"But Caoimh has done outstanding, last season and this season again as well but the moment Alisson is fit, he will be our first goalkeeper."
Reds boss Slot remains cautious after his side's recent success, stressing the importance of maintaining peak performance to fend off competitors like Manchester City and Arsenal. Speaking post-match, Slot had a clear message: "It was definitely a big week but every game is a big week," he said, noting the constant challenges thrown up by a jam-packed fixture list in multiple competitions.
"Hopefully we will have a lot of these weeks to come because these weeks are mostly big if you are competing for something and that's what we are doing at the moment.
"We are trying to compete for the league, trying to compete for the Champions League and trying to compete in the cups we are in as well as well.
"We also know it is a long season where we have to continuously be at the top of our game because the likes of Arsenal, City and Chelsea, and all these other clubs, are able to win as many games as we did in the first 15, 16 games."
"We have to stay on the top of our game, which is never going to be easy but we will push for it as much as we can."
