Jordan Henderson is the latest Liverpool player to praise Alisson Becker’s performance against Crystal Palace.
The Brazilian was imperious between the sticks. Without his saves, Liverpool would surely have drawn or even lost the game.
“He was (outstanding), but he’s always like that, to be honest!,” the Liverpool captain said whilst speaking to liverpoolfc.com.
“You do take him for a granted a little bit. With the saves that he makes, he makes them look so easy, but there was a couple of big moments in the second half that he sort of dug us out and kept us in the game.”
That’s definitely true.
No frills Ali
The skipper’s point about Alisson making saves look easy is an interesting one. It has been mentioned in the past, most recently by Liverpool colleague Caoimhin Kelleher, who said: “His positioning is very good. He makes saves that other goalkeepers would make look difficult, but he makes them look very easy when it’s actually a great save.” (BBC)
It’s true that you rarely see Alisson make a flying ‘camera save’. But that doesn’t mean that his stoppages don’t catch the eye. His instinctive save from Odsonne Edouard’s backheel yesterday was excellent, while his ability to read Michael Olise’s attempted lob stopped a certain goal.
Alisson is also uncannily good in one-v-one situations.
Whether his saves earn him praise from the wider footballing world or not, Alisson’s teammates obviously appreciate his contributions. Henderson attributed Liverpool taking all three points from Selhurst Park to the 29-year-old’s display.
“(It was) A massive performance from him and ultimately he gets us the three points.”
Kelleher also performed well in mid-week and Jurgen Klopp has assured the Irishman of his place in the starting line-up for the Carabao Cup final next month. But if any Liverpool fans might have forgotten, Alisson yesterday reminded them of why he is the best goalkeeper at the club and possibly in the world.
Receive a digest of our best Liverpool content each week direct to your mailbox
