Adrian proved the hero as his penalty save earned Liverpool a 5-4 shoot-out win after a 2-2 draw with Chelsea in the UEFA Super Cup.
Adrian – who joined Liverpool on a free transfer last week and may not have played but for Alisson Becker’s injury – kept out Tammy Abraham’s penalty to give Liverpool their first silverware of the season at approaching 1am local time in Istanbul, at the end of an entertaining encounter in the first-ever all-English Super Cup.
Chelsea had earlier taken a deserved lead through Olivier Giroud’s smart finish (36) but the half-time introduction of Roberto Firmino swung the balance, and within 90 seconds he had set-up Sadio Mane to level (47).
While the rest of normal time could not produce another goal, Liverpool went ahead five minutes into extra time as a Mane rocket beat Kepa Arrizabalaga, but a soft penalty given when Adrian brushed Abraham inside the box allowed Jorginho to level from the spot (101).
In the shoot-out, nine perfect penalties meant it was all-or-nothing for Abraham. His low spot-kick down the middle was kept out by Adrian’s feet, as the Spanish goalkeeper proved the hero and gave Liverpool victory.
