Peter Schmeichel told CBS’s Champions League coverage (16/02/21 at 22:30 pm) that Alisson Becker looked ‘relaxed’, ‘confident’ and he was ‘laughing’ away prior to Liverpool’s win against RB Leipzig in the Champions League on Tuesday.
Liverpool’s number one shot-stopper went into the match on the back of making a number of high-profile and costly mistakes against both Manchester City and Leicester City.
But in Budapest, the £67 million goalkeeper was back to his best (Sky Sports), including producing a number of important saves in the first half when the game was 0-0.
Manchester United great Schmeichel thinks the spotlight will not turn away from the Brazil international after that performance, as he first shared what he noticed about Alisson during his pre-match warm-up.
“He has found himself in a very unusual situation in the last couple of weeks where he’s been highlighted for the mistakes that he has made,” said Schmeichel. “And it’s in the big games. Man City at home. Leicester, the other day.
“I was watching him during his warm-up. I always look at players to see how they are. Are they ready? Are they fooling around? Are they focused?
“And he looked relaxed. He looked like he was looking forward to the game. He was smiling and laughing away. When he puts in a performance like he did today, it’s going to give him a lot of confidence.
“In many ways, it’s going to change the debate about Liverpool. It’s going to go away from Alisson to maybe the more true problem Liverpool have had in the Premier League.”
A change of competition, mindset and target has seemingly helped this Liverpool side that has been melting like butter in a frying pan in the Premier League.
The lack of balance and injuries in Liverpool’s squad will continue until the final ball is kicked, it’s just a case of the champions showing their true self as they bid to win the European Cup for the seventh time.
But they also have to make sure that they don’t let those top-four places slip because they are currently sitting outside of them.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
