BRENDAN RODGERS insisted Liverpool had been denied by one of the best goalkeeping performances he had ever seen after their stalemate with Reading.

Royals ‘keeper Alex McCarthy produced a string of saves to deny the Reds all three points at the Madejski Stadium, the 23-year-old denying Luis Suarez, Steven Gerrard, Daniel Sturridge and Philippe Coutinho as Liverpool dominated.

Rodgers worked with McCarthy briefly whilst Reading manager in 2009, and the Reds boss hailed the youngster’s display as one of the finest he has come across in the game.

“Today, Reading had a goalkeeper that produced probably the best goalkeeping performance that anyone in this stadium has ever seen in their life,” he said.

“I sat in the changing room with the staff, and I can’t remember being at a game where a goalkeeper has produced a performance like that. Either as a manager, as a coach or just as a spectator.

“Normally you get goalkeepers who make one save or two saves and they make the difference, but the young lad made an incredible number of saves. And even when he was beaten, it was cleared off the line. You’ve just got to take your hat off. There’s nothing else you can do. He’s not played for five months either, so imagine what he will be like when he’s in the flow.”

It was a frustrating afternoon for the Reds, who had 26 efforts on goal, 15 on target and bossed possession for much of the match. The draw leaves Liverpool well adrift of the Premier League’s top six with five games left to play, and Rodgers admits his eyes are already looking towards next season, and in particular this summer, as he looks to add depth and quality to his squad.

“We will be in a much, much better place at the beginning of next season,” he said.

“I think everybody can see how we’ve improved and got better this season. We’re probably in the area we should be in terms of our squad. We’ve got some top players, but you need quality throughout your team. For us to go to the next level, we need that extra bit of quality. That was always the process here. We will look at it in the summer. Every club will bring in players, but for us it is about making sure that we add that quality that we need to help the group.

“I think if you ask the players as well, they’ve enjoyed their season’s work. We’ve not had too many games where we haven’t played well. I could count them on one hand.

“Performance-wise, a lot of our play has been very good. The team had a problem scoring goals last season, and that hasn’t been the case this year. We are one of the highest scorers in the league, which shows that the creativity is there in the team.

“The balance defensively is getting better.

“And I believe that if we can add some quality to the ranks in the summer, that can take us on again.”

He added: “What can I say to the players today? We’ve had 26 shots, 15 on target, good chances, we’ve defended the counter attack quite well and we were on the front foot for most of the game.

“You’ve just got to give credit to Reading.”