Alisson Becker and Ederson Moraes are unquestionably two of the best goalkeepers in the world. Less than a year apart in age, the two Brazilians will both be part of their nation’s squad for the World Cup in Qatar, a tournament for which they are favourites.
Something else they share, albeit in very opposite ways, is an immense relevance to the career of Mohamed Salah. Never was this more apparent than in Liverpool’s 1-0 win over Manchester City on Sunday. While the Egyptian was ultimately the game’s key figure, the clash could justifiably be described as a tale of two goalkeepers.
It was the home stopper who had the much better day. Alisson made six saves, and though they were not the most difficult efforts to face (collectively worth 1.1 post-shot expected goals, per FBRef ), it’s almost two years since he recorded so many in a match for the Reds.
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Not that Kopites would have been thinking about how their goalkeeper had performed at his ‘day job’ after the match. Everyone will have been talking about his pass to create the only goal of the game.
It moved Alisson up to joint fourth on the Premier League chart for assists by goalkeepers, with three. Paul Robinson leads the list with five, while David Seaman and former Liverpool man Pepe Reina each registered four.
However, they all played at least twice as many matches in the competition as the Reds’ current number one has to date. He is contracted to the club for another five years, so fitness permitting the record is his for the taking. What makes Becker’s record even more interesting is that his assists have all been for Salah.
They have arguably each grown in importance too. Alisson opened his Premier League assist account in unforgettable style against Manchester United in 2019/20. His pass enabled Liverpool’s number 11 to seal a 2-0 victory and leave the Kop declaring “we’re gonna win the league.”
Then last season the Brazilian created the go-ahead goal in the Reds’ 3-1 win against Norwich City. But nothing can match assisting the winner against the defending champions and Liverpool’s primary league title rivals (in general, if not as looks likely this season).
The strike against Pep Guardiola’s side also means Alisson is one of Salah’s most common goal creators in recent times. From the aforementioned United match onwards, only five players have assisted the former Roma man more times. Even more remarkably, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andy Robertson are not among them, as they each have two on their ledgers since the middle of January 2020.
Salah’s goal also meant he won his personal battle with Ederson. The City man kept out his first clear-cut chance of the contest (even if the officials thought it went wide without an intervention from the City man). However, Liverpool’s second top scorer in Premier League history made no mistake when clean through for a second time.
And Salah is winning the war with Ederson too. He has now scored eight goals past City’s first choice goalkeeper, more than he has managed against anybody else in his career. Granted, three of them have been penalties, but he still has a healthy five goals from a little over 12 games-worth of pitch time against a world-class stopper with an elite team.
David de Gea’s time among the very best goalkeepers in the world looks to have passed, but he has certainly been at that level in his career. You could say the same for Manchester United and their relative standing, in fairness. Anyway, the Spaniard is second on Salah’s Liverpool list of favoured opponents, having conceded to him seven times.
And who created the first of that septet of goals? Alisson Becker. The links between the goalkeepers at Liverpool and the Manchester clubs are not merely defined by the position in which they play. Just ask Salah.
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