• Premier League

Rodgers demands clean sheet from error-prone Mignolet

Simon Mignolet has come under scrutiny after a series of poor performances © Getty Images

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Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers has told goalkeeper Simon Mignolet he expects a clean sheet this weekend after his error gifted minnows Ludogorets an early lead in the Champions League on Wednesday.

Mignolet is under increasing pressure after a series of underwhelming performances this season, with former Liverpool goalkeeper Bruce Grobbelaar calling for the club to replace him as soon as possible.

Mignolet fumbled a third-minute long-range shot from Marcelinho to allow Dani Abalo to score the opening goal in Wednesday's 2-2 Champions League draw away to Bulgarian side Ludogorets.

Rodgers is looking for the goalkeeper to respond when Stoke City visit Anfield in the Premier League on Saturday, and said a clean sheet was his top priority.

"As a goalkeeper you have to be able to let these things go," Rodgers told the Guardian. "The goal was a massive setback for the team but we need to keep his confidence as high as we can. We have to look to the weekend and keep a clean sheet."

Mignolet has played every Premier League match for Liverpool since arriving from Sunderland for £9 million in June 2013, and Rodgers' comments suggest he will keep his place for the weekend.

Brad Jones is the only other goalkeeper at Liverpool with any first-team experience, and he has played only 23 times for the club since arriving from Middlesbrough in 2010.

Liverpool did look at the possibility of signing former Barcelona goalkeeper Victor Valdes as a free agent earlier in the season, but have not pursued a deal.

Grobbelaar told BBC Sport earlier this week that he felt Mignolet was "worse than Dracula" - a reference to the old joke about author Bram Stoker's vampire character being scared of crosses.

Grobbelaar, who made 628 appearances for Liverpool between 1981 and 1994, said: "I've said that he doesn't command his area. Yes, he's a great shot stopper. I was slaughtered last year by Liverpool fans saying that I was being too harsh on him.

"I'm not being too harsh on him. Not at all. He's worse than Dracula, because at least Dracula comes out of his coffin now and then. He seems to stay on his line and that's it.

"The whole 18-yard area - not just the six-yard area - is the goalkeeper's, in this day and age, in modern goalkeeping."

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