Stand-in goalkeeper Adrian capped a "crazy week" as his save from Tammy Abraham allowed Liverpool to beat Chelsea 5-4 on penalties and win the UEFA Super Cup on Wednesday after a richly entertaining match in Istanbul finished 2-2 at the end of extra time.
Every penalty in the shoot-out had been successful before Mohamed Salah converted Liverpool's fifth kick at the home of Besiktas. Substitute Abraham then had his effort saved by Adrian, the new signing only playing in the absence of the injured Allison Becker.
"Welcome to Liverpool! It's been a crazy week. I'm really happy for the team, I'm happy to play for Liverpool and happy for the fans," Adrian, who signed 10 days ago, told BT Sport. It was Liverpool's fourth Super Cup victory, with their last coming in 2005 on the back of their memorable Champions League triumph in Istanbul.
They have now won 13 European trophies overall, and how their supporters would love to come back to the banks of the Bosphorus for the final of this season's Champions League.
"It was a very difficult game for both teams. It was all about winning it and we did that in the end," admitted manager Jurgen Klopp. But it was perhaps inevitable that French referee Stephanie Frappart would play a role in the outcome of the game.
The first woman to take charge of a major men's match in European competition, Frappart gave Chelsea a penalty when Abraham went down under contact from Adrian. Jorginho netted the spot-kick.
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