Alisson Becker has warned Real Madrid that Liverpool are not content with just reaching the Champions League final - and hailed the contribution of Luis Diaz off the bench against Villarreal.
Liverpool booked their place in European club football’s showpiece match for the third time in five years after advancing past Villarreal in the semi-finals. After a 2-0 win at Anfield in the first-leg, the Reds then claimed a 3-2 victory at the Estadio de la Ceramica on Tuesday night.
Then, 24 hours later, Real booked their place in the final after coming from behind to beat Manchester City at the Santiago Bernabeu. Riyad Mahrez fired City ahead before a dramatic stoppage time double from Rodrygo sent the tie to extra-time.
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Karim Benzema's penalty then won it for the La Liga champions to set up a final showdown against Liverpool in Paris at the end of this month. But despite Real’s dramatic victory, Alisson has his sights set on lifting the European Cup again.
He said: “It’s massive. It’s so important for me, for everybody. It is a great achievement to reach a Champions League final because it’s one of the most difficult competitions to play.
“You play against the biggest teams in the world but we want more now. We want the title and we will fight for that.”
Diaz was Liverpool’s hero at the Estadio de la Ceramica after he came on as a half-time substitute. The forward’s side were 2-0 down on the night, with the tie level at 2-2 on aggregate. However, the introduction of the Colombian sparked Liverpool into life. First, Fabinho pulled a goal back for his side before Diaz and Sadio Mane struck.
“We conceded two goals and the game was really complicated for us in the first half. We couldn’t react in the best way,” Alisson said of the game.
“I think the half-time was really important for us to settle down the things and hear what the manager had to say to us, and to go into the second half and really try to find the solutions. We did that.
“Luis and all the players who came on really gave a huge contribution to that. Scoring three goals was amazing. The second half was a completely different game from the first half. It’s all on our attitude. We did that and it’s amazing.”
City remain one point clear of Liverpool in the Premier League table with just four games remaining. Guardiola’s side welcome Newcastle United to the Etihad on Sunday, while the Reds host Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday night.
And although Alisson believes his side deserve to celebrate their achievement of reaching the Champions League final, he has vowed to supporters that his side will not take their foot off the gas as they chase an unprecedented quadruple.
“We need now to celebrate a little bit. The moment – reaching a final – is a massive achievement,” the Brazilian told liverpoolfc.com.
“But when you taste something you want to taste it again and the taste of victory is amazing. We have to close this season with that because we work really hard every day, not only ourselves, not only the players but all the staff, all the people around the club.
“They work hard for us to give us the conditions that we need to play football and we’ll do that for them and for our fans as well.”
