Michael Owen labelled Alisson Becker’s first-half save during Liverpool’s stunning 2-1 win against Newcastle United as ‘world-class’.
At half-time, everything was going wrong for Jurgen Klopp and the Liverpool players because they were 1-0 down and down to ten men, with Owen adding that it would have been ‘game over’ had the home side made it 2-0, as he told Premier League Productions (27/08/23 at 5:30 pm).
Virgil van Dijk was shown a straight red card for bringing down Alexander Isak as he tried to go through on goal, with the Reds captain clearly unhappy at that call – Owen and Les Ferdinand shared their thoughts on that incident.
But, just before the half-time break, Newcastle United winger, Miguel Almiron, unleashed a vicious shot from inside the penalty area that was saved up by Alisson Becker and tipped onto the crossbar.
It was a moment of brilliance from the Liverpool keeper and it proved, in the end, to be game-changing, because super sub, Darwin Nunez, came off the bench to net a brace and help his team to quite an incredible three points.
This is what former England striker Owen stated about that Alisson save, just before Nunez’s magic.
“I mean, it’s an uphill struggle,” said Owen. “Ten men. If it was 2-0, at half-time, then it was game over.
“But this keeps them in the game. World-class save.”
Alisson is Liverpool’s best player
Yes, many will point towards the goalscoring machine, Mohamed Salah, who provided a quite stunning assist for Nunez to win the game today.
But, in terms of consistent performances, keeping his team in the game and being able to deal with an error-prone, leaky and declining defence, he has remained firm.
That’s why he is Liverpool’s best player and their most important player because, without him, they would be much worse off.
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