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If you watched the Liverpool game against Brighton & Hove Albion this weekend, you probably felt your heart stop near the end of the game when Alisson Becker decided he really wanted to show the fans at Anfield just how fancy his footwork could get. The chip, in case you missed it, is worth a million rewatches.
The boss made it clear that he was one of the people clutching his chest in fear for a second, but that he understands that the chip was the right thing to do given the situation. Alisson, on the other hand, seems to think everyone is overreacting.
“I try my best to help the team in the build-up,” the goalkeeper said after the match. “If sometimes there is a situation where there is dribbling, I do it carefully. It could be too risky, but it’s part of the game, we are a team that plays from the back with the ball on the ground.”
“That’s part of the team’s characteristics,” Alisson added. “Mistakes may happen, but we work hard during the week to do everything correctly during the matches.”
Which is all well and good, but one of the reasons Alisson’s footwork has become a topic of conversation is the defense’s over-reliance on him in the second half, something Klopp isn’t too pleased about.
“Too often in the second half we put him in a situation where we needed him in a similar situation by playing backpasses in the wrong moments, stuff like that, it made no sense,” Klopp said.
“He is very confident and very good with the ball and that helps us massively, but he cannot be the main solution in the last 10 minutes. That makes no sense.”
It’s very, very early days for this squad, and there are still a few issues to iron out. If they keep playing as well as they have for the past three games, however, we’re in for an incredibly exciting season.