Jamie Carragher named Alisson Becker as Liverpoolâs best player against Newcastle today.
Alisson was called into action several times during a busy first-half at St Jamesâ Park. And despite Liverpool going 2-0 up inside 17 minutes, Carragher told Sky Sports that he wasnât too impressed with their performance.
âDefensively, Liverpool have been all over the place,â bemoaned the Reds legend as half-time approached. âItâs fair to say Liverpoolâs best player has been the goalkeeper, and theyâre 2-0 up away from home.â
Although Liverpool were comfortable in terms of score-line at the time, in reality it was a different story. Alisson saved brilliantly from Miguel Almiron in the opening minutes of the game, before tipping an Allan Saint-Maximin effort onto the bar.
In the second half, Alisson was at it again. A sloppy touch from Roberto Firmino in midfield saw Callum Wilson end up one-on-one with the âkeeper. Yet again, Ali was equal to it, drawing more praised from Carragher.
âIâve said from the early part of first half â the Liverpool goalkeeper has been the best player. Heâs come to the rescue again,â said the pundit. Heâs one of the worldâs best, no doubt, theyâve needed him to be that today. No way Liverpool get three points [without him] if Newcastle had ten men or eleven men.â
Alisson saves Liverpool once again
It was hard to know what to make of Liverpool during todayâs game. On the one hand, they raced into an early lead and looked decent value for it. On the other, they looked so open during the first half in particular. Too many times they allowed Newcastle too easy-a route to goal.
Ultimately, in the first half anyway, they didnât lead to anything. But that was largely down to the heroics of Alisson. Where Liverpool would have been without him in this game â and during this season â doesnât bear thinking about.
The first save in particular is one to really marvel at. Early doors at a raucous St Jamesâ Almiron looked set to give his side a dream start. Ghosting in behind Virgil van Dijk, the in-form Paraguayan only had Alisson to beat. But before he knew it, the Brazilian was on him. Spreading himself in a star shape, Alisson kept out Almiron with a powerful right hand. Magical.
Just a couple of minutes later Liverpool found themselves in the lead. From there followed another goal and a Nick Pope sending off. Reds in control.
The second half didnât do anything to dispel Carragherâs Man of the Match claim, if anything Alisson only strengthened it. The save from Wilson was just as good as the Almiron one. In the end, Liverpool somehow did enough to see the game out without anyone really impressing too much and missing a hatful of chances. Three huge points claimed, and another big thanks to their imperious No.1.