Andy Robertson hailed Alisson Becker as the world's best goalkeeper and believes Liverpool's outfield players have "let him down" this season with their own performances.
But the Scotland captain says Sunday's 1-0 win over Manchester City could be the catalyst the Reds need to help turn around their campaign as they prepare to welcome West Ham United to Anfield on Wednesday night.
Alisson claimed an assist for the winning goal after his punt up the pitch sent Mohamed Salah clean through with just under 15 minutes to go at Anfield. The Brazil international is one of few to emerge from the frustrating campaign to date with any credit and he was once again flawless for Jurgen Klopp's side as they recorded a huge victory over the champions.
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"I think Ali's the best in the world for sure in what he does," Robertson said. "We've all probably let him down this season in that he's faced too many shots, he's had to be making too many saves and I think he'll be a lot happier tonight.
"Ali on the ball is unbelievable and you have to trust him in those moments. [The goal] came from their corner or free-kick or whatever it is and Ali has got it in his hands and you trust him to make the right decisions.
"We had a similar goal against Manchester United a couple of seasons ago where Mo did the exact same thing. He capitalises on a mistake, someone's took a poor touch and then Mo's clear through on goal and his composure has been excellent.
"It's something we trust Ali with, he's unbelievable with the ball at his feet and he's got great vision as well and when we see something then we have to react off it and we all pushed up and luckily the ball has ended up in the back of the net."
Robertson, who made his first start since the defeat to Napoli on September 7, added: "A lot has been said about players this season and we've not put in good performances. But the lads, we're strong characters, we've got a great mentality and we've stuck together throughout it.
"This performance tonight was an excellent performance, the result is the main thing but it was an excellent performance but it's important we all don't get too carried away. We have to do it consistently now, that's what our success has been built on in the past: consistently good, consistently getting results, and when you don't play well getting results.
"We've not done that this season and that's why we're in the position we're in. We're too far behind but only results are going to help that. Tonight had to be a start playing against the best team, for me, the quality they've got and the confidence they come in with. It was a great performance by all of us but, like I said, we have to carry it forward to Wednesday and another tough game, a different challenge. We have to now put a run of results together.
"For the last three or four years it's always been us and Man City in one and two. Now other teams are getting involved, Arsenal look amazing this season, Tottenham look a different animal, Chelsea are getting going again, Man United... Those teams are trying to close the gap in terms of quality but we're too far behind to focus on that just now.
"We just need to focus on putting in performances like we did tonight because if we do that I believe we'll get chances against any team and defensively I thought we looked solid today. Yes, they had chances, that's always going to happen with the quality they've got, but Ali made the saves when he had to, I thought Joe (Gomez) and Virgil (Van Dijk) were excellent, Milly (James Milner) was outstanding at right-back.
"But the wingers and the amount the lads covered up top was incredible. So that has to be the basis, that's always been the basis of our performances - hard work, full of energy, full of legs. I thought we did that to a man tonight.
"We were obviously brilliant tonight but we need consistency. We've had a couple of performances this season where people have said, 'Can this kickstart the season?' It's important, it's such a big win for us against an unbelievable team that put us under so much pressure, but it's only a massive three points if we use it to our advantage.
"We have to take confidence from this. I thought the performance to a man was different class, I thought everyone was excellent and put in their best performance they could have tonight. We worked so hard for each other and that's the basis for it, where it all starts, and what our success has been based on. I thought we were back to it tonight and it's important we carry that forward, we have to do it every game."
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