Alisson will make mistakes
The Brazilian is a very good goalkeeper, but he’s also a bold one. He is reminiscent of Fabian Barthez; always looking to take risks in possession.
Like the former Manchester United number one, sometimes those risks will lead to mistakes, and sometimes those mistakes will prove costly.
That’s exactly what happened at the King Power Stadium on Saturday. With Liverpool 2-0 and seemingly cruising, Alisson received a backpass from Virgil van Dijk. It was a poor pass from the Dutchman, admittedly, one which put his keeper under pressure with Kelechi Iheanacho sprinting towards him.
However, in a fatal error of judgement, instead of booting the ball out for a throw, Alisson decided to dawdle, get the ball caught between his feet and lose out to Iheanacho. The Foxes striker then squared to Rachid Ghezzal, who fired home to give Leicester hope.
“We talked about that in the dressing room and I spoke to Virgil,” Alisson said. “It wasn’t a good pass but I could have just kicked it long.”
“I wanted to keep playing and keep the possession. Now everyone is going to analyse that. I’m not going to be stupid and make the same mistake. We have to learn from our mistakes.”
Ultimately, it didn’t cost the Reds any points as Jurgen Klopp’s men made it four wins from four to top the Premier League table. The German seemed reasonably relaxed regarding Alisson’s error post-game.
“I said to him, it’s the best game to do it because we still won the game and we ticked that box. As a team, we are still in the period where we have to adapt to each other and not use him in the wrong moments. He’s not the solution for us, he’s an option,” Klopp said.
“But we all have to learn to use it in the right way still. That means, pass the ball in the right moment, then immediately make another offer for him, open some passing options. That’s the job for the team, play the pass in the right moment, not on a dry pitch and not hard enough.
“Don’t do it in these moments. That was a mistake – no goalkeeper in the world should dribble in that situation. But he did it. But it’s all OK. For me, much more interesting is how the reaction was and it was good. We still used him in better situations. The crowd wanted to make him a bit nervous but he didn’t look nervous. That helps a lot. Then it’s all fine. Football is a game where a lot of mistakes happen over 90 minutes.”
Klopp’s right. It’s fine for now. Should Alisson make another mistake like that, however, and cost Liverpool points, the German coach may not be as unflustered.
