Mignolet: That wasn't my first penalty
When Simon Mignolet walked from his goal line to the penalty spot and turned to face the Kop during Tuesday night's shootout against Middlesbrough, he was not necessarily entering unchartered territory.
After each of Liverpool's outfield players stepped up to take a spot-kick during the tense climax to the Capital One Cup clash, responsibility fell to Mignolet to switch positions and assume the role of penalty taker.
As he waited in earnest for the referee's whistle, the 26-year-old no doubt allowed his mind to drift back, however briefly, to April 2009 and the last time he took on penalty-taking duties.
Mignolet's Sint-Truiden were cruising to victory over Ronse in Belgium's second division when, in the 88th minute, a spot kick was awarded and the 'keeper stepped forward seeking to seal a 5-1 rout.
His penalty was saved; however, the stopper was able to finish on the rebound.
Fast forward five years and Mignolet needed no such second chances as he sent Jamal Blackman the wrong way on Tuesday night to extend Liverpool's lead in the shootout to 10-9.
"I think the penalties took a bit longer than we expected," Mignolet told Liverpoolfc.com afterwards. "The game took a bit longer than we expected as well but we got through to the next round and that's the main thing.
"In the shootout you try and stay focused on the task - and that's just the next one. You look at the next penalty and see what you can do about that. Luckily everybody took their penalties really well - myself included!
"I took one while I was in Belgium, when we were leading 4-1. I scored to make it 5-1. But this is the first one that went in straight away.
"I approached the penalty like anyone else would and tried to hit the target and put a bit of power behind it. I think I sent the 'keeper the wrong way as well, so I'm pleased with that. But obviously the most important thing is to get through to the next round and that's what we did."
Mignolet was unable to repel Patrick Bamford's penalty, late in extra-time, after goals from Jordan Rossiter and Suso, either side of Adam Reach's equaliser looked to have secured victory for the home side.
The resulting shootout then saw no less than 30 penalties fired towards the Kop net, two of which were missed by Boro - one saved by Mignolet - to hand Liverpool a 14-13 win.
"We got in front today, but unfortunately they equalised," reflected the stopper. "Then we got in front again in the second half of extra-time. Then we gave the penalty away [when Kolo Toure challenged Bamford].
"But I think the main thing is everybody fought really hard up until the last minute of the game. We stayed positive and concentrated throughout the game and that's always very important. With cup games, you just have to make sure you go into the next round and we did that."