Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Liverpool Echo
Liverpool Echo
Sport
Ian Doyle

What Liverpool dressing room believe is being 'overlooked' as Alisson drops future hint

It wasn't just Mohamed Salah celebrating a century at Anfield on Saturday.

As the Egyptian notched his 100th home goal for Liverpool, at the other end of the pitch Alisson Becker was quietly reaching a similar landmark of clean sheets since signing for the Reds almost five years ago.

In a season of such tumult for Jurgen Klopp's side, the consistently impressive form of their Brazilian goalkeeper has been a reassuring constant, his saves ensuring Liverpool still retain an outside chance of Champions League qualification with just three games remaining.

READ MORE: What Anthony Taylor made Liverpool bench do as Mohamed Salah request denied

READ MORE: Cody Gakpo explains how referee made it 'really difficult' as new Liverpool role addressed

A second shut-out in four days, Alisson could yet claim at least a share of the Premier League Golden Gloves award for the third time, standing in second place just two adrift of Manchester United's David de Gea.

But Virgil van Dijk has underlined how Alisson's value for Liverpool extends beyond the confines of his 18-yard box.

"That's the biggest quality, how he is as a person and how important he is for the group," says the Dutchman. "Obviously on the pitch his qualities are there for everyone to see - his contribution, the saves, the leadership, that's all very important.

"But away from the pitch is just as important, the qualities he has. He is a big, big leader in the group and someone a lot of players look up to. He's an example for a lot of players, especially goalkeepers. I'm very glad that he's my goalkeeper and we have been very successful. Obviously this (100 clean sheets) is for him a big moment and hopefully there are many more to come."

Klopp has long acknowledged the influence of Alisson with the goalkeeper following Van Dijk as part of the 'leadership group' within the Liverpool squad.

The Brazilian is only the seventh goalkeeper to keep 100 clean sheets for the Reds - David James is next with 102 - with just Ray Clemence and Pepe Reina having a higher percentage of shut-outs to games played, Alisson achieving his landmark in 229 starts.

For his part, the keeper is hopeful of staying at Liverpool long enough to reach further landmarks. "I don't know how much it means, 100, I hope I'm going to reach 200, 300, as many as possible," says Alisson. "But this is not only a number of myself, it's from all the boys, from all the staff, goalkeeping coach department, everybody. We work together with a common goal and a clean sheet is a common goal of ourselves."

Alisson has this season made on average more accurate short passes per Premier League game than any other regular starting goalkeeper, and Van Dijk believes the 30-year-old's ability on the ball is often taken for granted.

"It's very important to have a goalkeeper you can trust," he says. "Most of the time it starts with him, the attack, that's just how it is. Maybe sometimes that is overlooked a bit. He is the one who has the highest risk factor in the team as well, if he makes a mistake then it's a goal.

"It's the whole doing it together type of feeling that we feel we have. That's the basis. He would probably say that without the boys in front of him and the midfielders and strikers doing their work, this (100 clean sheets) would not be possible. Everyone is part of it, but he should definitely be proud of it."

With more than a week until their next game at Leicester City, the Liverpool squad and coaching staff on Sunday embarked on a short break in Barcelona ahead of the final three weeks of the campaign.

Saturday's shut-out means Liverpool have put together a run of consecutive Premier League clean sheets for only the third time in more than 12 months, with a sixth successive win strengthening their grip on a Europa League place at the very least.

And asked if the Reds were back to showing their best as a collective defensive unit, Van Dijk says: "Let's hope so. We work very hard. You saw that against Brentford and the last couple of games, the commitment we have shown and the reaction when we lost the ball is very important.

"It's important to get the ball back, win challenges, and while there's still room for improvement, winning six games in a row is something that has been unheard of this season. But let's just keep going and enjoy the moment and take it into next season hopefully and have a very good season next season.

"We know when things have to improve, and this season that was pretty obvious as a team. That's how we work. You have to try and block the noise out, put your head down and work and that's what we are doing. That's what I did, that's what the other players are doing and that's the only solution to get back to where we feel like we belong."

READ NEXT:

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.