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Clemence: Liverpool would not be in PL top four without this man
By Aramide Oladipo
Former legendary Liverpool goalkeeper Ray Clemence has praised the recent performances of Belgian keeper Simon Mignolet and he believes that he is the reason why the Merseyside club are still in the top four.
The 29-year-old picked up his eighth Premier League clean sheet of the season on the weekend as the Reds strolled to a 4-0 victory away at West Ham.
Mignolet’s future looked to be in serious doubt at the start of the campaign as Jurgen Klopp bought the 23-year-old German goalkeeper Loris Karius from German side Stuttgart and gave him the number one jersey.
Karius’ pre-season injury gave Mignolet the chance to prove himself in the opening matches of the season but once the German had recovered in September, the Belgian was dropped to the bench.
Following a number of shaky displays from the German against West Ham and Bournemouth, Mignolet was brought back into the fold in December and he has remained between the sticks ever since and produced some outstanding displays in recent months.
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Speaking with the Liverpool Echo, Clemence believes that Liverpool should be thanking their hopeful Champions League qualification on Mignolet’s recent displays.
“There’s a difference between making great saves and making the game-changing saves that Simon produced in Liverpool’s recent away games at Stoke, West Brom and Watford,” he stated.
“They were the difference between winning the game and drawing or losing so those saves were crucial to Liverpool hopes of making the Champions League.”
Mignolet will look to secure another clean sheet on the weekend in the final game of the campaign against Middlesborough at Anfield as Liverpool bid to finish in the top four for the first time since 2014.
In other Liverpool news, this playmaker’s entourage are working to engineer a move away from the club according to Guilem Balague.
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