Jurgen Klopp admits Liverpool were indebted to a ‘world-class’ save from Alisson Becker during their crucial 2-1 Premier League win away at Aston Villa on Tuesday night, speaking to the club’s official website.
In the lead up to Liverpool’s midweek trip to the Midlands, The Athletic published a piece explaining exactly why the £67 million Brazil international is so imperious in one-v-one situations.
“If the keeper doesn’t have great footwork or they’re not athletic enough then they just get rounded every time. But Alisson’s really good at avoiding that,” says goalkeeping analyst John Harrison.
“It is a technique that you wouldn’t recommend if you are coaching a goalkeeper unless they are an incredible athlete because, otherwise, they won’t get away with it. Alisson can because of his physical attributes.”
And, as Liverpool held on to claim a nerve-shredding win away to Steven Gerrard’s fiercely-motivated Aston Villa side, Alisson’s party piece came to the fore once again.
Danny Ings looked certain to level the scores against his former club. Put through after Ollie Watkins pierced Liverpool’s high defensive line with a perfectly-weighted through ball.
That was, of course, until Alisson came thundering off his line, stealing the ball of Ings’ toes. As The Guardian wrote in their live blog, ‘nobody does it better’.
Liverpool beat Aston Villa
“(We) scored the second – incredible goal, top-class. Winning the ball back, passing it, first pass forward, Luis Diaz sensational. A little juggle here and then crossing the ball,” Klopp beams.
The hard-fought win means Liverpool have moved level with title rivals Manchester City at the top of the table.
“Sadio made the world of (the chance),” Klopp adds. “And then we had to dig deep, (that’s) clear. They had moments, of course, they had a big chance with Ingsy. That was obviously a world-class situation from Ali.”
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It’s fair to say it won’t go down as Alisson’s finest performance in Liverpool colours. He spilled the ball to Douglas Luiz for Villa’s third minute opener, was caught in no man’s land as Ings flashed a header over the ball and then nearly gifted the hosts another goal after a terribly misplaced pass out from the back.
But when Liverpool have their backs pinned against the wall, there’s no one you’d rather have by your side.
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