Just How Important Could Simon Mignolet's Penalty Save Be For Liverpool Football Club?

Liverpool's Premier League opener against Stoke City was by no means a boring 1-0. There was a great ebb and flow to the game and both 'keepers had huge parts to play - eye catching saves are as big a part of football as any goal is - and we were treated to some fantastic goalkeeping courtesy of Simon Mignolet and Asmir BegoviĀ‡. The big Bosnian pulled off some truly amazing saves to deny Liverpool what could have been a routine Anfield win. The City 'keeper denied Jordan Henderson twice - the second one, a truly mouth watering finger tip save onto the post, Gerrard once from a free kick - a spectacular leap to his top left hand corner and Enrique from close range. In comparison, Mignolet had a quieter afternoon but the Belgian started in a much more nervous fashion - the new boy looked shaky when up against Peter Crouch during the early exchanges, but who wouldn't? This nervy baptism would soon be forgotten by the Kop faithful as Mignolet composed himself to make a double save at the death - first from Jonathon Walters's penalty and then the follow up from Kenwyne Jones. It is upon this double save that this article is based. Liverpool have often struggled on the opening day of the season and looked to be consigned to yet another poor Premier League start. As Walters ran up to take the penalty there was a low point experienced by Red supporters that hadn't been felt all summer - a great summer of optimism was enjoyed after great form towards the end of last season, coupled with shrewd signings and a positive pre season and all this was about to crash around Liverpool like a house of glass. However, in that moment, the script was rewritten and Mignolet sprung to his right to save the tame spot kick. New hero. The change in emotion was obvious but what could it mean for the Reds going forward? That's exactly what we'll discuss here...
Contributor
Contributor

I'm Zak and I graduated from the University of Hull in 2014 - where I studied 20th Century History. I love anything about football, especially weird and wonderful stats. I'm in to trying just about any game and enjoy debating about films. My main passion for writing comes from the beautiful game! I encourage debate so please leave any comments you think of! I hope you enjoy the articles.