By ANDREW RILEY Steven Gerrard got all the plaudits after the win at Bolton but one man who has escaped any such praise is someone who has started the season in exceptional form is Pepe Reina.
His importance to Liverpool is huge. Although many Reds fans willacknowledge that for Liverpool to have any chance of competing for thetitle Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres must stay fit, what has notbeen so widely discussed is the potential loss of Reina.
His record speaks for itself; he is the quickest Liverpool goalkeeper in the club’srich history to reach 100 clean sheets (197 games, three fewer than Liverpoollegend Ray Clemence). If the 26-year-old Spaniard were to get injured,then Benitez would have to call upon the less-than-convincing DiegoCavalieri, who in his few appearances for the club has looked decidedlyshaky.
Already this season Reina has produced a number of world class saves,with his save from Bolton’s Matty Taylor on Saturday being the latest ina string of fine shot stops.
With the scores at 1-1 and only moments left until half-time, Taylor produced a stunning free kick that was arrowing towards the top corner, only for Reina to pull off a one-handed super save that kept his team level going in at the break. It was without doubt a massive turning point in the game.
Although question marks may still remain when it comes to decisionmaking and collecting crosses, Reina has slowly developed into one ofthe Premier league’s and world’s best, and at the age of 26 he is stillsome way off the age where goalkeepers traditionally reach their peak.Reina can only get better and his next aim will be to oust the equallytalented Iker Casillas from the No.1 shirt for Spain.
Once the injuries clear and Benitez begins to settle on his preferredcentral partnership, Pepe’s form and presence in the starting XI thisseason, may well be the difference between being title contenders andbecoming champions
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