Plenty of Liverpool fans have been reacting to comments made by former Reds player Steve Nicol about Adrian following the goalkeeper’s costly mistake in Wednesday night’s Champions League exit, when his miscued clearance led to the first of Atletico Madrid’s three goals in their 3-2 victory.
Speaking on ESPN, the 58-year-old also referenced the two errors made by Loris Karius in the final of the competition a couple of years ago, saying: “If anybody ever questions why you spend £80m on a goalkeeper, you just saw it tonight. This is not the first time in recent years that this has cost Liverpool. Two years ago in the final Loris Karius cost them a Champions League.” Those comments were subsequently shared on Twitter by @AnfieldEdition.
Steve Nicol: “If anybody ever questions why you spend £80m on a goalkeeper, you just saw it tonight.
“This is not the first time in recent years that this has cost Liverpool. Two years ago in the final Loris Karius cost them a Champions League.”
— Anfield Edition (@AnfieldEdition) March 12, 2020
Liverpool briefly held the record for a transfer fee paid for a goalkeeper when they signed Alisson from Roma for £66.9m (as per The Guardian) in 2018, with that fee quickly eclipsed by the £71.6m Chelsea invested in Kepa Arrizabalaga (as per The Guardian).
In stark contrast to the large sum the Reds paid for the Brazilian, who has been ruled out of recent games due to a hip injury, they signed Adrian on a free transfer last summer following his release by West Ham. The Spaniard’s error against Atletico Madrid came not long after another mishap in the FA Cup defeat to Chelsea at the start of the month.
Nicol’s condemnation of the 33-year-old prompted mixed reaction from these Liverpool fans on Twitter, with some taking the Scot’s side and others believing his criticism was excessive:
100% agree must be about 4/5 mistakes now ????
— mark the spark ???????????? (@markdlfc) March 12, 2020
Absolutely,Adrian cost us on that game
— Kabokwamchuzi (@JohnDon86086825) March 12, 2020
Spot on
— Don?? (@Dattydon) March 12, 2020
Steve Nicol is an absolute weapon. He’s right up there with Gray and Keys.
— Scott (@scottchef1) March 12, 2020
Ah come on. The lad made an error. But there were 10 other players on the pitch. Three of which watched a pass to the goal scorer and stood off them. Plus, a rake of chances missed the other end. Poor performance all around, didn’t take the chances and punished in the end.
— Eugene Tyson (@Euge_Tyson) March 12, 2020
For all respect an ex-LFC player deserves, he surely enjoys attention by castigating current ones! #YNWA #RESPECT
— Ed (@Ed11Ram) March 12, 2020
Liverpool fans, do you agree with Nicol’s verdict on Adrian? Comment below with your views!
