Liverpool survived an attacking onslaught to beat Crystal Palace 1-3, thanks largely to a superb display from Alisson.
The Brazilian goalkeeper came into this game off the back of two straight clean sheets but in general with a reputation that is somewhat sunken. He was no longer considered automatically the best goalkeeper in the division, even though Liverpool’s 19 goals conceded is bettered only by Chelsea (18), Wolves (16) and Manchester City (14).
But today at Selhurst Park, Alisson put in a performance to remind us all that not only is he one of the best goalkeepers in the division but he is also one of the very best goalkeepers in the entire world.
Alisson was voted man of the match at Selhurst Park, and if you watched the first few minutes as Liverpool roared into a 0-2 lead you would have never suspected it would end up that way, but going two down really stirred something in Palace.
Powered by the magnificent Michael Olise, Palace took control of the game and began carving the Reds’ defence to bits. Andrew Robertson had set up both of Liverpool’s goals but defensively he couldn’t live with Olise’s movement and dribbling.
Fortunately for the Scot, Alisson was on the case. The Brazilian was a one-man brick wall, constantly making huge saves to deny Palace a route back into the game. Big save after big save, including a pair of sensational stops from Olise himself.
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The first of those was a big stop in the first-half, but the second? Late in the game Olise had lofted the ball over him with a delicious chip, but Alisson adjusted his body, raced back towards his goal and jumped into the air to palm the ball wide. He collided with the post as a result, but the Brazilian just shook the pain off to keep on keeping goal.
Of course, he did concede, but only after his entire defence capitulated before his eyes and left him 1-v-2 against the Palace strikers, who predictably rolled the ball around him for a tap-in rather than test his prodigious skills.
Liverpool have now won each of their last seven games at Selhurst Park:
✅ 2-1
✅ 4-2
✅ 2-1
✅ 2-0
✅ 2-1
✅ 7-0
✅ 3-1New manager for Palace, same result. pic.twitter.com/LRvTjyj66u
— Squawka (@Squawka) January 23, 2022
It wasn’t just the saves, either. Alisson’s command of his box, especially against the aerial threat posed by Palace’s wide players and forwards, was exemplary. But it was also the saves too. Honestly, this was just a masterpiece of goalkeeping where he controlled his area with immense stature, bailed out his defence over and over again and made sure that Liverpool picked up all three points with big saves.
Yes we all know Trent Alexander-Arnold is world-class, and Mohamed Salah may be the best on the planet (and shoutout Andrew Robertson who is a magic left-back), but Alisson is one of the world’s finest as well and needs his flowers just as much as his team-mates. A glorious, goalkeeping god who smote Crystal Palace to allow Liverpool to get to within nine points of Manchester City atop the Premier League table.