Simon: You made my dream come true
Reds goalkeeper Simon Mignolet reflected on his remarkable, match-winning penalty save against Stoke City and described the moment as a dream before thanking the fans for their part.
The Belgian swooped low to his right to push out Jonathan Walters' spot-kick in the closing minutes of a pulsating Barclays Premier League opener at Anfield on Saturday.
That save, coupled with a reflex stop from the same opponent during the first period, ensured Daniel Sturridge's first-half rocket handed Liverpool a 1-0 victory over the Potters.
"You dream of those kinds of things and when it actually comes around, you're very pleased afterwards," Mignolet told Liverpoolfc.com immediately after the final whistle.
"You can't really judge if it's going to end up like that on your debut. It can only be good for my confidence; the next game is going to be a lot easier than it was today.
"You have to get through the first 15 minutes. I managed to get through the first 15 minutes with the support of the fans, my teammates and the staff.
"I got through the first 15 minutes of the game and once I made my first save, it settled me down and made the game a lot easier.
"At that moment itself, you don't really know what you're thinking of. Once everything has settled I'll look back to it and hopefully take positives from it.
"We just have to keep our feet on the ground and be focused. Next week there's a tough game again against Aston Villa.
"The most important thing is that we got three points today; I think we deserved that with the game we played and the chances we created.
"Unfortunately, we didn't manage to score the second goal. That's the most important thing - a win, a clean sheet and move onto the next game."
Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard revealed last season how he had benefited from the analysis of goalkeeping coach John Achterberg when attempting penalties at the other end.
The Dutchman's level of research proved helpful for Mignolet on Saturday too.
"I think every goalkeeper does that nowadays in the Premier League," the No.22 added.
"We analyse those things and all credit to the coaching staff, who have monitored that throughout the last couple of seasons and made sure that we knew what was going to happen."
Mignolet was one of three summer signings to make his competitive debut against the Potters and the 'keeper was thankful for the reaction afforded by his new home fans.
He said: "Of course, when you make the save at the end and the fans get behind you, that was very pleasing. It can only be good for my confidence for future games.
"Everybody was happy because we wanted to win the game - that was the objective. We've done that, we move onto the next game and make sure we do it again."
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