Alisson pays it all back
WHEN errors from Loris Karius gift-wrapped the Champions League trophy for Real Madrid last May there was never going to be much hesitation at board level when Jurgen Klopp asked for a new goalkeeper. Even when the numbers on the cheque to Roma for his replacement Alisson came in at an eye-watering £69million – then a world record for a goalkeeper. But by ensuring Liverpool made it into the Champions League knockout stages with his last-ditch intervention on Tuesday night in the 1-0 defeat of Napoli, Brazilian Alisson has already made a significant payment back on the investment. With £2.36m for the win and a guaranteed extra £8.31 m for reaching the last 16 (even before income is boosted by ‘market pool coefficient’ for the big four leagues), Alisson’s block from Arkadiusz Milik could be described as an £11 m save. With him between the sticks, Liverpool now look equipped to not only go deep into Europe but also launch a more robust and lasting challenge in their search for a first top-flight title since 1990.
And when you listen to the men in front of him talk, he provides the one asset which every defender – let alone any other player and fans for that matter – want from their goalkeeper.
“He gives us confidence,” said Liverpool midfielder Georginio Wijnaldum. “When you think ‘Oh they are going to score’, then Ali is there to make a save.
“He helps us a lot and I hope he can keep that form until the end of the season. If he does, that means he will be making more important saves.”
Alisson’s injury-time stop on Tuesday carried echoes of the block to keep out a header from Andre Gomes at the start of the month in the Merseyside derby, when the score was 0-0 – a match Liverpool dramatically won 1-0. Wijnaldum said: “The one against Everton, if that had gone
in no one would have blamed him but he saved it. Today as well, it was really difficult to save the ball but he managed to stop it.
“But more importantly, it is the moments when he makes the saves for us and how he makes the save.”
In September, Alisson was caught trying to dribble out of trouble by Leicester striker Kelechi Iheanacho – which led to a Leicester goal in Liverpool’s 2-1 win at the King Power Stadium.
It was a rare mistake in an otherwise impressive start to his Premier League career.
The improvement with Alisson between the posts has statistical gravitas as well, with 10 clean sheets this season – the most of any goalkeeper in the top flight.
Alisson is starting to carve out a reputation for himself at a club which has had the brilliance of Ray Clemence, the extraordinary character of Bruce Grobbelaar and the heroics of Jerzy Dudek at the forefront of their five European Cup/Champions League triumphs.
Liverpool manager Klopp chose to praise Alisson’s work as a sweeper keeper with the ball at his feet, for all he knew it was the save that was the bigger eye-catcher on Tuesday night against the Italians.
And on the back of moving to the top of the Premier League and progressing in Europe, Wijnaldum insists the challenge for Liverpool is to maintain the level of performance until the end of the season, starting with the visit of Manchester United on Sunday.
“Everyone can have a bad season,” said Wijnaldum. “The year before I came, Liverpool finished eighth. Last season they finished fourth. One season goes well another goes difficult. It doesn’t mean they have a bad team.
“We have to keep giving good performances every week to continue the run that we are in. We don’t think we are invincible. If we think like that we have a manager who will put us with both feet on the ground again.”
A manager who saw his team’s shot at Champions League glory disappear on a night of goalkeeping errors in the final in May. Six months on, the story has a different feel to it.