Kelleher achieved a remarkable feat by saving a penalty against Ronaldo

12/10/2025 14:10:00 ceshi

Goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher successfully stopped a penalty kick from the legendary Cristiano Ronaldo. Many believe Kelleher was lucky, but statistics show that the former Liverpool keeper’s penalty-saving skills are exceptional.

In the summer of 2025, Kelleher left Liverpool to join Brentford, where he has been performing excellently. Recently, he saved a penalty during the Ireland vs. Portugal match. Few know that Kelleher was one of the closest friends of the late former striker Diogo Jota in Liverpool’s locker room.

The decisive moment came in the 75th minute after O'Shea blocked Trincao’s shot with his hand. Slovak referee Ivan Kruzliak did not hesitate to point to the penalty spot for Portugal. At that time, the score was still 0-0. Ronaldo stepped up to take the penalty.

Đồng đội ăn mừng việc Kelleher cản phá cú đá 11m của Ronaldo - Ảnh: @ESPNFC — Teammates celebrate Kelleher’s save of Ronaldo’s penalty - Photo: @ESPNFC

Although Ronaldo fooled Kelleher’s dive direction, his shot was still denied by the former Liverpool keeper’s miraculous left-foot save. Despite Ireland eventually losing 0-1 in Lisbon due to a late goal by Ruben Neves (90+1’), Kelleher once again proved his calm and top-tier penalty-saving ability.

Kelleher có quyền tự hào về thành tích bản thân - Ảnh: @ESPNFC — Kelleher has every reason to be proud of his achievement - Photo: @ESPNFC

According to Opta, Kelleher has succeeded in saving 4 out of his last 7 penalty attempts. Besides Ronaldo, he also denied penalty goals from Bruno Fernandes, Kylian Mbappe, and Adam Armstrong. Meanwhile, Eduard Spertsyan, Enze Le Fee, and Ryan Hardie managed to score against him. This means Kelleher’s penalty save rate stands at 57%.

After the match, Ireland’s coach Heimir Hallgrimsson expressed mixed feelings of disappointment and pride in the team’s spirit: "I truly feel very, very disappointed. It’s a heartbreaking result. We were so close to earning a point but ended up empty-handed. I’m regretful, but today the whole team played very well and impressively. Personally, Kelleher performed excellently. His brilliance is undeniable. Now, we focus on winning in the upcoming matches."

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