Giant-killer Kelleher: CR7, Bruno & Mbappe fall into his spot-kick trap

Even though Jurgen Klopp and Arne Slot mainly gave him playing time in the EFL and FA Cup, as well as while Alisson Becker was sidelined, the impression is that Caoimhin Kelleher never got a proper chance at Liverpool, as he always hinted at being ready for a more serious role than being someone's backup.

Either way, the Irish apparently got tired of waiting and left Anfield last July, joining Brentford as a replacement for Mark Flekken, who had moved to Bayer Leverkusen.

And although the season with the Bees didn't start too well, as he conceded 12 goals in seven Premier League games, meticulous statisticians noticed a fascinating fact regarding the custodian and penalties.

Namely, the last three spot-kicks Kelleher stopped came against genuine superstars - Kylian Mbappe, Bruno Fernandes, and Cristiano Ronaldo!

His "giant-killing" run started on November 27 when denied the Frenchman's effort in Liverpool's 2-0 win over Real Madrid in the Champions League league phase. However, then a 10-month break followed - until September 27.

In the meantime, Kelleher conceded three penalties, but then impressed in Brentford's 3-1 EPL triumph against Man United, stopping Bruno's spot-kick.

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Just two weeks later, the 26-year-old keeper was again face-to-face with a Portuguese - this time the greatest-ever - in the Republic of Ireland's 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers clash against the Navigators. And he denied him, too!

Even Cristiano couldn't find a key for this "penalty-kick lock," as the Irishman saved his sixth career penalty kick out of 23 he was up against, meaning that his spot-kick save rate is over 25%!

Anyway, Kelleher definitely caught the football public's attention, while any future penalty taker will have at least a slight grain of doubt when facing him.