The Impressive Stat That Proves Liverpool Fans Should Cut Simon Mignolet Some Slack

Simon Mignolet must have feared for his position in Liverpool's starting lineup when Loris Karius rocked up at the club last summer.

Since last December, however, the 29-year-old has been an ever present in the Reds' first choice XI - in the Premier League at least - and has seemingly turned opinions around about his ability within the club's fanbase.

His goalkeeping quality had been called into question at various points of his Anfield career, but in a stat posted to the official OptaJoe Twitter account on Tuesday, it seems some of those Liverpool supporters may need to change their view on him:

A success rate of 35%, with regards to penalty saves, for any shot stopper is nothing to be sniffed at, and proves that Mignolet must have something about him if he's able to rack up those numbers.

The Belgium international's most recent penalty save came in Tuesday's 2-1 Champions League play-off first leg victory over Hoffenheim at the Rhein-Neckar Arena as he promptly beat away Andre Kramaric's spot kick.

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With the scoreline at 0-0, it was a vital save to make and helped Liverpool go on to record a slender but crucial win heading into the second leg on home turf on 23rd August.

Liverpool fans will, perhaps rightly, point to the fact that Mignolet still shipped three goals away to Watford on the opening day of the 2017/18 campaign.

That, however, refuses to take into account the defensive vulnerabilities that have been rife during the Klopp era and give an easy ride to the club's backline sitting in front of Mignolet.

Suffice to say, Mignolet is worth something to Liverpool's cause - particularly penalties - and it may just prove to be a crucial factor if the Reds ever come up against a penalty shootout this term.