"He can't react on time" – Michael Owen calls out Liverpool star for his underwhelming display in 4-3 Fulham win

Ex-Liverpool striker Michael Owen has criticized Caoimhin Kelleher for his sub-par performance in his team's 4-3 Premier League home win over Fulham this Sunday (December 3).

The Reds, who are second in the 2023-24 league standings with 31 points from 14 games, scored two late goals to overturn a 3-2 deficit at Anfield. Alexis Mac Allister, Wataru Endo and Trent Alexander-Arnold all bagged goals after a Bernd Leno own goal, while Harry Wilson, Kenny Tete and Bobby De Cordova-Reid each scored for Fulham.

Speaking to the Premier League Productions, Owen opined on how Kelleher could have done better to stop Fulham's second goal from Tete. He remarked (h/t HITC):

"I must admit, I thought the goalkeeper could do a little better here. I don’t know why he starts darting off his line, for some reason and that kills his time. If he stays on his line, then he gets much more time to save that, maybe with his feet, then all of a sudden, he can't react in time."

Kelleher, who started his sixth Premier League match in Alisson Becker's absence, registered two saves and made one error which led to a goal against Fulham. The 25-year-old goalkeeper completed 33 passes with 97% accuracy and made seven recoveries this Sunday.

Alisson, on the other hand, is reportedly likely to be out for close to two weeks due to a hamstring issue. He sustained his injury in Liverpool's 1-1 league stalemate at Manchester City earlier on November 25.

Chris Sutton predicts outcome of upcoming contest between Sheffield United-Liverpool

In his column for the BBC, ex-Chelsea striker Chris Sutton predicted a 3-0 triumph for Liverpool in their league trip to Sheffield United this Wednesday (December 6). He wrote:

"Paul Heckingbottom's departure as Sheffield United manager appears to be imminent, and it will not exactly be surprising to see him go after their past couple of results against Bournemouth [1-3] and Burnley [0-5]. A new voice always makes the first game after a change of manager really interesting but, whether or not Chris Wilder gets the job, I don't see it making much difference."

Backing the Merseyside outfit to win comfortably, Sutton concluded:

"Liverpool did amazingly well to come back to beat Fulham on Sunday and they are right in the thick of the title race now. This should be a much more straightforward victory for Jurgen Klopp's side, who have got the firepower to win comfortably."

While Liverpool are second with 31 points, Sheffield United are in 20th place in the 2023-24 domestic table with five points from 14 matches.

As for head-to-head record, Jurgen Klopp's outfit are unbeaten against the Blades in their last seven meetings, winning six and drawing one.