OPINION
Alisson Becker has adapted to life at Liverpool like a fish to water.
The Brazilian international compliments the Reds’ defence perfectly and has helped create a style of possession-based football that many Premier League teams find hard to compete against – even after more than a year.
Jurgen Klopp likes his side to constantly recycle possession to help his team dominate opponents for as long as possible and tire them out after having to defend for such long periods.
Alisson sits at the base of the team and acts like another outfield player for Liverpool, with the keeper being an option who is available at all times during games, no matter how much pressure they are under.
Despite this, Jermaine Jenas suggested to BBC Radio 5 Live that the Reds will not miss the former Roma man during his spell on the sidelines due to a calf injury – revealing how he believes it won’t affect their style too much.
“In my opinion, I think he makes quite a lot of mistakes, playing out from the back,” said Jenas.
“If he’s decent with his feet, in my opinion, that’s not going to affect Liverpool’s style of play, playing out from the back at all.”
Jenas is surely already eating his words over the importance of Alisson after the Southampton game after the Reds were forced to hang on for a 2-1 victory at St Mary’s after an Adrian blunder led to a nervous final 10 minutes.
That one blunder from the Spaniard almost proved the BBC pundit wrong instantly, and many Liverpool fans will be praying for the return of Alisson as quickly as possible.
Alisson’s importance in possession is surely underrated if Jenas’ remarks are anything to go by, with the Brazilian having averaged an 80.3% passing success rate last season from his average of 28.3 passes per game [WhoScored].
The keeper also only averaged 4.8 attempted long balls, meaning more times than not he looked to keep the pressure on the opposition by recycling possession for his teammates to launch another attack.
Although Adrian’s mistake was not costly against Southampton, it certainly proved the pundit wrong – and Liverpool will be desperate to see their influential stopper return.
