"Golden Gloves" and Regrets 97 points
Liverpool became the greatest second-placed team in Premier League history when finishing with 97 points. 38 rounds, 1 loss, the "The Kop" defense was so solid that it was unrecognizable. It was Alisson who made that difference.
Before him, central defender Van Dijk came to help the "Red Brigade" gain solidity in the defense. However, for a champion, behind a "steel shield" still needs a talented goalkeeper.
Alisson has proven that he is exactly the one Liverpool need with 21 clean sheets. The Brazilian goalkeeper won the "Golden Gloves" award in his first season in the Premier League. In the history of the tournament, only 3 goalkeepers have done this, including Anh, Pepe Queen and Peter Cech.
76 saves is not an impressive number, but the save percentage of up to 77.55% shows his significance. Alisson has not faced too many shots, but when the team needed him to show his talent, he rarely let them down.
The competition here is very intense, so you need to concentrate all the time. It is very important in England. The team has a solid defense, so the ball rarely comes close to the goal. But in reality, I still have a few opportunities to show off, so I need to focus all the time," the Liverpool rookie shared.
Thanks to the 26-year-old goalkeeper, "Red Brigade" fans can forget the Karius disaster. 22 goals conceded in the whole season, after just 1 year, no one has seen the image of a fragile, damaged defense.
Unfortunately, the only loss to Man City was a turning point in the title race. However, for a long-term tournament, 1 loss does not determine the championship. Alisson did everything he could, with stability and certainty. It was just a pity that Liverpool's attack and... luck were not on his side at important moments.
Champions League & European Championship Record
Alisson's excellence could not help "The Kop" dethrone Man City in the Premier League. But in the Champions League, his performances have brought much higher value.
Liverpool did not start their journey in the European arena this season very smoothly. In the group stage, they have had 3 defeats and can only continue thanks to their head-to-head record against Napoli.
In the final match against the Italian representative, Alisson had a 3-point foot save, helping Liverpool overcome their opponents to advance to the knockout round. After the match, coach Jurgen Klopp had to exclaim: "Knowing that Alisson was at his peak, I paid double the price to buy him."
Only now do people understand the correctness of Klopp's statement. Because if Napoli's Arkadiusz Milik had successfully defeated Alisson, the "Red Brigade" would not have had a happy ending as it is today. It was the former AS Roma goalkeeper who took the Merseyside team from hell to heaven.
Strangely, in a cup tournament with only 13 matches, coach Jurgen Klopp and his team have played at good times, losing 4 matches, but they are still champions.
Perhaps, because The Kop has a stable checkpoint and knows how to shine at important moments. It is not difficult to mention the Brazilian goalkeeper's miraculous saves in the Champions League this season. Messi, Alba and Coutinho have all had their goals denied by him.
Notably, in the final, Alisson set a record with 8 saves, the 26-year-old goalkeeper became the cleankeeper with the most saves in a Champions League final since the 2003-2004 season.
In addition, he was the first goalkeeper to keep a clean sheet in the Champions League final since Jun Jun Cesar in 2010.
More than a year ago, Karius threw away Liverpool's championship dream with silly mistakes. However, now that the sad period of Kiev has passed, Wanda Metropolitano on June 2 witnessed a hero denying all hopes of a goal by the "Rooster". Kane burst into tears, he had failed the Alisson test more than once.
Excited but still full of stability, the £65 million contract ended the tournament with a record of 6 clean sheets. His form has contributed greatly to helping the "Red Brigade" win the Champions League after 14 years of waiting.
65 million pounds for owning an Premier League "Golden Gloves" and an outstanding European champion. This number suddenly became a big deal for Klopp and the Liverpool upper class.
