Jurgen Klopp was full of praise for Simon Mignolet‘s vital contribution after Liverpool fought back to a 2-1 win over Stoke City on Saturday afternoon.
It took goals from Brazilian duo Philippe Coutinho and Roberto Firmino to seal the comeback at the Britannia Stadium.
But the Reds would still have suffered defeat were it not for their man between the sticks, with Mignolet producing a pair of incredible saves to deny Charlie Adam and Saido Berahino.
And speaking after the victory in Staffordshire, Klopp reserved special praise for the Belgian, insisting his impact was as crucial as that of his goalscoring substitutes.
“I thought in the second half we deserved to win, but we needed Simon Mignolet,” he told BBC Sport.
“What a save! The second one was more spectacular, but both were good.
“He’s a really good goalkeeper, so the first one I would expect him to save it.
“But the second? No idea. That was genius, and I’m really happy for him—he saved our life today.
“Job done, nice weather, 63 points. I couldn’t feel much better in this moment.”
Mignolet remains a divisive figure on Merseyside despite his shot-stopping prowess, with his all-round game coming under scrutiny once again in Wednesday night’s 2-2 draw with Bournemouth.
And Klopp acknowledged this as he continued his praise during his post-match press conference, describing his performance as “well deserved.”
“We had to fight. And we needed Simon Mignolet with two outstanding saves,” he told reporters.
“The second one was one of the best I’ve ever seen, Save of the Day, Month, Year.
“It was outstanding, well deserved for him because he has got a lot of criticism in his Liverpool career.
“Sometimes these are the moments you need as a player, and for us as a team we need a goalkeeper in a moment like this.”
Whether this is a turning point in Mignolet’s career with the Reds remains to be seen, but it was certainly a performance worthy of wider praise.
With speculation mounting surrounding a possible summer move to Marseille, he may well have vindicated Klopp’s faith, as Mignolet was no doubt central to Saturday’s success.
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