Alisson is the best we have seen in a goalkeeper shirt at Liverpool and it stands to reason he may be the best we will ever see. Next season he faces a new challenge at Anfield.
The 2024/25 season was Alisson‘s seventh as the Reds’ first-choice goalkeeper and it proved a continuation of what we have always known, that he is the best in the business.
The inability to shake off injuries and the impending arrival of Giorgi Mamardashvili, however, has seen his position as No. 1 come into question for the first time.
ALISSON, 2024/25
Started: 35 (All competitions)On as a substitute: 0Clean sheets: 13Overall Season Rating: 9
World-class performances
“I don’t think I’ve worked with a goalkeeper that has played at this level – which is normal, because he’s the best in the world,” Arne Slot assessed after an unbelievable display at PSG.
“I’ve had some very good players as a manager, but never had the best goalkeeper in the world and that I think he is.”
That visit to PSG saw the Brazilian make nine saves, keeping out the equivalent of 2.26 goals based on xG, in a game that saw PSG fire 27 shots on goal and Liverpool only two.
Although the Reds would fail to progress beyond the eventual Champions League winners, it was Alisson who kept the tie alive and made the smash-and-grab win possible.
His son, Matteo, surely searched ‘livrpool dad save’ on YouTube in the days that followed!
From a quick reaction save against Ipswich to his jaw-dropping return at Girona, his game-defining five saves against West Ham and the nine that followed on a meaningless trip to Brighton – Alisson is a reminder of what elite looks like.
He still, incredibly, does not receive the wider acclaim he deserves but his one-on-one ability is unrivalled and Liverpool have a lot of their points thanks to his interventions.
That is not to say he is not culpable of a mix-up, just ask Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate, but those moments pale in comparison to his quick-footed approach and command of his goal.
And it is not that he just stops the ball going into the back of the net, it is that he parries it out of danger with an awareness that is extraordinary.
It has been said many times before, but you dread to think of the day Alisson no longer dons the No. 1 shirt.
Injury woes strike again
Have you ever known a goalkeeper as injury-prone?
It feels as though Liverpool’s price for having the world’s best is that they must live without him for a certain period each year, ensuring he is never taken for granted upon his return.
It was no different this season for the Brazilian, sadly. It all started before Bournemouth‘s visit in mid-September when it was reported he had tightness in his hamstring – which plagued his 2023/24 campaign.
The 32-year-old missed two games, returned for two and then in the third punched the ground in frustration as his hamstring failed him once more. He’d miss the next 11 games.
Thankfully in Kelleher Liverpool had a deputy who minimised his absence but in an ideal world, you would rather be able to consistently call upon the world’s best.
Late in the season concussion would then rule Alisson out for another two games, taking his season total to 15 games missed due to injury, the joint-third most of any player in the squad.
For a player turning 33 in October, his injury record remains concerning but after Slot, Ruben Peeters and Co. reduced games missed by 64.3 percent there is hope yet that Alisson can turn a corner ahead of his latest test.
New competition to face at Anfield
With Kelleher pursuing his next career step as a No. 1 at Brentford, Alisson faces fresh competition for his spot as No. 1.
The Brazilian, however, does not see the new signing as a threat and instead welcomed the club thinking of the future when they signed the 24-year-old last year.
In August of last year, Alisson said: “The club needs to prepare for the future. We are not going to last forever here, I am getting old!
“I knew about [the interest in Mamardashvili] before it came out on social media and that is a good message for me because the club cares about what I think.
“They are doing the right thing but, on my side, as long as I have my contract here and as long as I am happy here, the club is happy with me, my family is happy here, [so] I will stay.”
Alisson is contracted until 2026 but his deal includes an option for the club to trigger a 12-month extension, which would currently be hard to see Liverpool opting against such has been his form.
It would not be a popular choice for Slot to oust the Brazilian in favour of Mamardashvili, though having called Alisson the “best in the world” it would suggest it’s not in his initial plans.
Alisson‘s fortunes, you sense, are in his own hands – or that of his body’s – after missing 31 games across the last two seasons and the same again will leave the door ajar for the Georgian.
But when fit, Alisson served timely reminders of his exceptional quality.
Best moment: Nine incredible saves at PSG, one of the best-ever performances from a ‘keeper.
Worst moment: Another mix up with Van Dijk against Southampton.
Role next season: Undisputed No. 1 but with new competition.
