It’s a moment Adrian describes as the ‘most important’ of his career, but one he still chose to dedicate to someone over 1,700 miles away.
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A whirlwind 10 days culminated in Adrian becoming the hero in Liverpool’s UEFA Super Cup victory when he saved Tammy Abraham’s decisive penalty in a shootout with Chelsea.
And supporting him throughout it all was the man he had replaced. The Spaniard had been required to deputise for the injured Alisson Becker partway through the Premier League opener against Norwich City – just a matter of days after signing on a free transfer.
In the midst of all the celebrations that followed his heroics on his full debut for the Reds, the 32-year-old didn’t lose sight of why he was in position to earn the first major honour of his career.
Messages were exchanged between him and Alisson before and after the showpiece, with the Brazilian watching events in Istanbul from home as he continued his recovery from a calf injury.
“I told him he was a great part [in Liverpool] being in the final,” Adrian revealed to Liverpoolfc.com at Melwood. “And that he was unlucky with the injury, but we’re going to fight for it and we’re going to get it, for sure.
“After the game he text me again. I text him and said, ‘This is for you because you got the Champions League and this Super Cup’.
“Maybe he was not personally there, but his help was there with us in Istanbul.”
After stopping Abraham’s effort with his feet, Adrian was swarmed by his new teammates and coaches. The tributes began to flow.
Jordan Henderson was “delighted” for the goalkeeper, while Jürgen Klopp declared it a “wonderful story” after doing his best Rocky Balboa impression
