Whisper it quietly but Alisson Becker is back to his best. With Liverpool chasing an unprecedented quadruple, it feels like the goalkeeper is making crucial saves on a weekly basis to maintain the Reds’ charge.
With 21 clean sheets to his name so far this season, he has already comfortably beaten his totals from each of the past two campaigns. Meanwhile, with Liverpool scheduled to play at least another 12 matches, he’ll fancy his chances of easily beating his Reds’ best haul of 21 shutouts from his maiden year at Anfield.
Alisson ’s return to elite levels this year has proven to be as vital for Liverpool’s revival as Virgil van Dijk ’s comeback from injury. Last term, the 29-year-old still emerged to produce the Reds’ moment of the season when scoring a spectacular last-minute winner against West Bromwich Albion to keep Jurgen Klopp ’s side in the hunt for the top four.
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The goalkeeper hasn’t looked back since and if Liverpool are to go even close to winning the quadruple in the final two months of the season, the Brazilian will have played the most crucial of roles. Even now, his save from Arkadiusz Milik in the dying minutes of a 1-0 victory against Napoli in December 2018 is heralded for its role in the Reds’ Champions League final win that season, and subsequent Premier League glory the following year.
If Klopp’s men are to be English champions again this season, Alisson’s recent stop from Martin Odegaard in Liverpool’s 2-0 win over Arsenal earlier this month, to move just a point behind Man City, could be looked back on as equally decisive. And such a save is not in isolation.
That clean sheet against the Gunners was the Brazilian’s 16th in the Premier League this season, moving him level with Ederson at the top of this year’s Golden Glove charts, but having played a game less. With Mohamed Salah leading Diogo Jota, Son Heung-Min, Sadio Mane, Harry Kane and Cristiano Ronaldo in the race for the Golden Boot, and Trent Alexander-Arnold ahead of the Egyptian and Andy Robertson for this season’s Playmaker award, a Reds performance awards whitewash could be on the cards come May.
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Alisson won the Golden Gloves award in his first season at Anfield, keeping 21 clean sheets during an ever-present season to finish one ahead of Ederson in the rankings. However, it would be his compatriot who got his hands on the Premier League trophy that year.
It was roles reversed in 2019/20 as Liverpool’s number one won the Premier League but missed out on the Golden Glove to Man City’s shot-stopper, with injury limiting him to 29 appearances and 13 clean sheets compared to his compatriot’s total of 16 shut-outs from 35 outings. Meanwhile, Ederson would defend the award as City reclaimed the title last year, keeping 19 clean sheets from 36 appearances as Alisson boasted just 10 shut-outs.
That drop-off in form would arguably contribute to the Liverpool goalkeeper’s starting place with Brazil coming under threat. An ever-present for the Selecao when they won the Copa America in 2019, he has made just 10 appearances in their last 28 fixtures since then due to a mixture of injury and the presence of Ederson, with the Man City shot-stopper winning 13 of his 18 international caps during this period in contrast.
The 28-year-old had controversially emerged as Brazil’s first-choice during last summer’s Copa America, playing once in the group-stages as Tite rotated his goalkeepers before starting throughout the knockout stages as the Selecao lost 1-0 to Argentina in the final. Yet questions were asked about his positioning for Angel Di Maria’s winner, and he has played just twice for his country since.
Both Alisson and Ederson would miss the September international fixtures with Chile and Peru as Premier League clubs refused to release their players due to Brazil’s Covid-19 ‘red-list’ status at the time. But since then, the Liverpool goalkeeper has seemingly started to reclaim his first-choice status for his country after rediscovering his best form at Anfield, starting five of their last seven 2022 World Cup qualifiers. Whether the Reds’ appointment of Brazil goalkeeper coach Claudio Taffarel in November has helped give him the edge, only Tite will know for sure.
Brazil clinched their place at this year’s World Cup in Qatar courtesy of a 1-0 win over Luis Diaz’s Colombia back in November, with Alisson starting on that occasion as well for the Selecao’s 0-0 draw with Argentina the same month and 1-1 draw with Ecuador back in January. However, Ederson would start their most-recent game, a 4-0 win over Paraguay, highlighting that perhaps the number one jersey still remains up for grabs.
There remains little to choose between the two goalkeepers with them deemed two of the best in the Premier League, as well as in world football altogether. As such, Tite continues to face a tough decision with regards to who he should select in goal ahead of this winter’s World Cup and could easily continue to rotate.
But he won’t be able to for Brazil’s upcoming World Cup qualifiers against Chile on March 24 and Bolivia on March 29 as they look to clinch top-spot after Ederson withdrew from the squad with a reported illness. As such Alisson could be handed another chance to impress his international manager and enhance his claim to be first-choice in Qatar.
It’s not just the Brazil number one jersey or Premier League Golden Glove award that Alisson and Ederson are set to vy for, however. After all, they will both play leading roles as Liverpool and Man City prepare to lock horns in both the Premier League and FA Cup, and continue to challenge for the Champions League.
The stakes have never been higher for Alisson as a result as his ongoing on-field rivalry with Ederson continues. He might not have started the League Cup final in February, but if available, he’ll start every decisive game remaining this year.
With the Liverpool number one back to his best ahead of these decisive months, he’ll be desperate to make 2022 a year to remember, well-aware it could come at the expense of his compatriot on both the club and international stage.
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