OPINION
For the past couple of years now, the entire narrative of English football has been dominated by the battle for supremacy between Liverpool and Manchester City.
The Reds and the Blues have, time and time again, shown that they are head and shoulders above the competition, and nothing could have exemplified that better than the fact that one won the Premier League and the other won the Champions League last season.
Naturally, this heightened competition has led to more specific arguments taking shape too.
One obvious one is the comparison between goalkeepers Alisson and Ederson.
Both fantastic players, both Brazilian, it is only natural that some form of debate should arise over who is better.
And, according to Jamie O’Hara, the Man City stopper edges it.
Speaking on talkSPORT, when referencing Alisson being given the title of Best Goalkeeper at the Ballon d’Or awards earlier this week, O’Hara said: “He had an unbelievable season, but I think Ederson’s a better keeper.”
Statistically speaking, however, he looks to be wide of the mark.
Last season, for instance, Alisson had a Whoscored rating of 6.79 compared to Ederson’s 6.66.
Similarly, as per Sky Sports, the Liverpool keeper prevented 5.53 goals to 0.87 from his compatriot.
Obviously, one season doesn’t define a player’s entire career, but there is certainly an argument for only judging a talent on the merits of its recent past, and if that is the case then Alisson is clearly the victor.
Ederson is brilliant, of course, but when all is said and done, Alisson has the beating of him.
