Alisson pulls off the save of his life
TOP-FOUR DREAM STILL ALIVE
IN THE craziest of seasons for Liverpool, this will be the craziest moment. No contest.
No goalkeeper had ever scored for them before while playing in goal.
But up stepped Alisson to keep their Champions League hopes alive.
This was just the sixth time it has happened in Premier League history. And this was such a huge goal, too.
The Kop keeper must have got fed up watching his team-mates waste corner after corner.
So he showed them how it is done in stoppage time to secure a huge three points for Jurgen Klopp’s men.
The Reds looked like they were about to blow their Champions League chance. They had run out of ideas and West Brom were holding on for a deserved point.
But the Baggies defence was not ready for the Brazilian to run forward for what would surely have been the visitors’ last chance at the Hawthorns.
Trent Alexander-Arnold swung in the corner, Alisson rose highest to deliver a header fit for a top striker to beat opposite number Sam Johnstone.
The Liverpool bench went mad, the Kop keeper was covered in his teammates. It was bedlam. When the elation and surprise finally subsided, the keeper raised his hands and looked to the sky.
Maybe a few words for his dad, Jose, who suddenly died in February.
What a moment for the keeper who had to pull himself through that loss while still playing for the Reds.
The cheers from the away dressing room could be heard long after the final whistle.
This was a huge moment for Klopp’s side. Top-four rivals Chelsea and Leicester must have been counting down the seconds.
Hal Robson-Kanu had given West Brom an early lead before Mo Salah pulled the Reds level.
But they looked like a second was beyond them. Instead, it was just beyond the 10 outfield players in red.
Up stepped the man in black to head home in the 95th minute. If Liverpool beat Burnley and Crystal Palace, they will be rubbing shoulders with Europe’s elite again next season
barring a big goal difference swing. However, they fell behind after just 15 minutes when Robson-Kanu held his nerve to net in the Premier League for the first time since 2017.
Sadio Mane was back in the starting line-up after an act of anger on Thursday when Klopp went to shake his hand at full-time at Old Trafford after they beat Manchester United.
And he had a role in the equaliser in the 33rd minute. West Brom failed to clear and Mane pinched it before knocking it to Salah who curled home.
Kyle Bartley thought he had got a winner for West Brom when he poked home from a corner but Matt Phillips was judged offside.
Alexander-Arnold, Thiago and Gini Wijnaldum went close for the Reds but could not sneak the second. It set up the most dramatic of finales.
A moment Alisson will never forget and a goal which could save a season for the Reds.
WEST BROM (4-4-1-1): Johnstone 7; Furlong 7, Ajayi 7, Bartley 8, Townsend 7; Phillips 7, Gallagher 7, Yokuslu 5 (Livermore 75), Diangana 6 (Maitland-Niles 73); Pereira 7; Robson-Kanu 7 (Grant 81). Goal: Robson-Kanu 15.
LIVERPOOL (4-3-3): Alisson 8; Alexander-Arnold 7, Phillips 6, R Williams 6 (Wijnaldum 84), Robertson 6; Thiago 7, Fabinho 7, Jones 6 (Shaqiri 59, 6); Salah 7, Firmino 6, Mane 7. Goals: Salah 33, Alisson 90.