Football - FA Premier League - Liverpool FC v Nottingham Forest FC LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - Saturday, November 22, 2025: Liverpool s goalkeeper Alisson Becker during the FA Premier League match between Liverpool FC and Nottingham Forest FC at Anfield. Photo by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda LIVERPOOL Anfield MERSEYSIDE ENGLAND PUBLICATIONxNOTxINxUK Copyright: xDavidxRawcliffex P2025-11-22-Liverpool_Nottingham_Forest-44
Stephen Robinson has confirmed that new signing Marius Muller is now in direct competition with Dimitar Mitov for the Aberdeen number one jersey.
The German goalkeeper arrived from Wolfsburg earlier this week and was thrown straight into his debut against Queen’s Park in the Premier Sports Cup.
Muller produced a superb treble save in the second period before making another crucial stoppage time stop to deny Lewis Stewart and preserve the win.
Aberdeen secured two wins from two in the competition, with Robinson making clear that no player in his squad is guaranteed a starting position.
Robinson stated: “Marius showed what a fantastic goalkeeper he is. We were hoping he didn’t have to show it. That is why we brought him in.”
The manager was equally clear about the competitive nature of his squad, adding: “Everybody here is fighting for their place. I don’t guarantee anyone that they will play. I don’t sign players and tell them they are guaranteed to play.”
Robinson also noted the physical challenges of integrating new arrivals, saying he threw Muller straight in as he did with Nesta Guiness-Parker, acknowledging both players were not yet at full fitness.
“There are different levels of fitness within the squad. You have to win the games as well as getting people fit. It is something we need to endure in this competition,” Robinson added.
The Aberdeen manager singled out the stoppage time save as the pick of Muller’s interventions, noting the game should have been wrapped up at the other end before the late drama unfolded.
Robinson said: “I think that was the best out of the four of them. We shouldn’t need that. We should score at the other end and then they break. The game should be out of sight.”
Aberdeen had made a strong start to the contest, going ahead through goals from Dan Happe and Lewis Smith to take control early in the match.
However, Robinson acknowledged a significant drop in performance during the second half, when Queen’s Park pulled a goal back and began to cause problems for the hosts.
The manager was still largely satisfied with what he saw from his new arrivals, saying: “There were a lot of positives. There were some fantastic performances from the new players.”
Robinson also identified areas for improvement, saying the team stopped doing the simple things after 45 minutes and made the game harder than it needed to be.
He remained confident about the direction of the squad, stating: “I believe we have signed good players. We need to get 90 minutes out of those players. I am confident that will come.”
Queen’s Park boss Sean Crighton felt his side could have taken something from the game after showing far greater quality in the second half.
Crighton said: “I think with our second half performance we could have taken something. My biggest frustration was the early goals we lost.”
The Queen’s Park manager praised his team’s attitude late in the game, describing Muller’s stoppage time save as unbelievable when watching it back on footage.
Crighton, whose side faces Queen of the South in their final group game, added: “If we believe in what we are doing and take it into next week then we can qualify.”
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