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Top 25 Liverpool players of the Premier League era - #24

Sports Mole's countdown of the top 25 Liverpool players in Premier League history continues with number 24 - Jerzy Dudek.

Jerzy Dudek

Jerzy Dudek's time at Liverpool is a mixture of glory and glaring errors, with the Polish goalkeeper having been responsible for some of the most memorable mistakes in the club's Premier League history as well as arguably the club's greatest ever moment.

It all began well for Dudek after he replaced Sander Westerveld as the club's number one in 2001, with his performances that year helping Liverpool to a second-place finish in the Premier League and, on a personal level, a nomination alongside Oliver Kahn and Gianluigi Buffon for the UEFA Goalkeeper of the Year award.

The following year saw his erratic side creep in, with his most notable error gifting Diego Forlan a goal in a match against fierce rivals Manchester United. However, he still ended the season with a League Cup winners' medal after putting in a man-of-the-match display in the final.

Dudek will forever be immortalised in Liverpool legend for his heroics in the 2005 Champions League final, though, where he emulated Bruce Grobbelaar by distracting the opposition with 'spaghetti legs' during the penalty shootout. Saves from Andrea Pirlo and Andriy Shevchenko subsequently helped Liverpool to defeat AC Milan and pull off the 'Miracle of Istanbul'.

The penalty saves were arguably not even his most important contribution that night, though, as he also pulled off a scarcely-believable double save from Shevchenko at point-blank range in the dying stages of extra time - a moment later voted as the greatest in Champions League history on UEFA's official website.

Dudek soon lost his place to Pepe Reina, but he ended his time at Anfield with 184 appearances and five trophies to his name.

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Barney Corkhill
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Sander Westerveld of Liverpool wrestles with Francis Jeffers of Everton during the FA Premier League match between Liverpool and Everton at Anfield on September 27, 1999
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