Jurgen Klopp says he thanked Alisson Becker for making ‘100 life-saving saves’ this season after Liverpool’s win over Brentford today.
The Reds’ 1-0 victory gave Alisson his 100th clean sheet since joining the club in 2018. And speaking to LFCTV after the game, Klopp says he gave a special thank you to his goalkeeper in the dressing room.
“We prepared a shirt for Ali and we gave it to him. I told him this is for 100 life-saving saves this season, he said ‘no, it was more!'” roared the manager. “So, this is for 100 clean sheets, I can’t wait to see the next 100 from him!”
Alisson hits century of shut-outs
In the end, it was a fairly routine 100 up for Alisson. It was far from comfortable for Liverpool in general against Brentford – the Bees pushed them all the way this evening. But for Ali himself, he wasn’t overly stretched.
As the Brazilian’s little joke here goes to show, he’s well aware that that has been a rarity this season. Far too often Liverpool have made Alisson work far too hard between the sticks.
Had those in-front of him been better, the 30-year-old would likely have reached this milestone months ago.
Still, it’s good to hear that the Brazil international retains a sense of humour about that fact. Others may have sulked and hit out at his teammates, but Alisson has taken the failings of those around him on the chin, and stepped up in the process.
Unfortunately, it looks majorly unlikely that his efforts will be enough to lead Liverpool into the Champions League next season. As a result, Ali looks set to be searching for clean sheets in a competition he’s yet to feature in for the Reds – the UEFA Europa League.
He’s conquered every other trophy he’s competed for at Liverpool. If it is the Europa for them next season, then the Reds will have a big shot at winning it with Alisson keeping them safe at the back. As Jurgen says, here’s to the next 100 Ali, thanks for everything!
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