Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson Becker displayed an excellent show of shotstopping against PSG in the 1st leg of UCL round of 16 match and he named the person for his performance.
The midweek clash on Wednesday night saw the Merseyside giants travel to the French capital to take on Paria Saint-Germain.
In-form Les Parisiens were predicted to be a fierce opponent for the high-flying Reds before even they set foot on the Parc des Princes turf.
However, that prediction escalated multiple steps higher as the match started and Luis Henrique’s men threw everything at Arne Slot’s LFC, dominating possession and raining shot after shot.
The dreaded attacking line of Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Ousmane Dembele, Bradley Barcola, Goncalo Ramos and Desire Doue made life horrible for the Liverpool defense with relentless attacks and efforts at goal.
But, despite all the struggles and disappointment in regard to their attack, the Anfield giants managed to clench the victory with the 87th minute goal by substitute Harvey Elliott who scored with his first touch of the game.
Although Merseyside’s own ‘Duracell Bunny’ scored the winner, it was shotstopper Alisson who was handed the man of the match award.
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Liverpool vs. PSG: Alisson Becker masterclass!
Even though the Reds left their opponent’s home with a crucial 1-0 away win, throughout the match, the French giants looked like they were the ones to leave the pitch satisfied.
Les Rouge-et-Bleu had a total of 27 shots within 90 minutes, 10 of which were on target. Maintaining 71% possession throughout the game, Paris dominated and threatened to score.
However, Liverpool No. 1’s heroics saved the day for the Merseyside giants as he made six diving saves among many other saves to maintain the clean sheet, denying PSG’s 2.26 expected goals on target (xGOT).
Speaking after the match to TNT Sports journalist Fred Caldeira, the Brazilian admitted,
“This was the performance of my life.”
Becker also did not forget to acknowledge the contribution of Reds’ goalkeeping coach Claudio Taffarel,
“Taffarel makes me maintain this high level since he came to Liverpool, it was with the goal of I had already won the Champion League, we’d beaten Premier League champions, and we would’ve been winning the World Cup, but in my mind I knew that I could improve.
So, I worked for Taffarel in our national team, that helped me a lot technically, so I thought it would be a great thing for me to have him here daily working daily and he brought a lot more for me in these last few years three or four we’ve been together only in Liverpool”
Many might not know that Taffarel is a World Cup-winning goalkeeper himself. He was Brazil’s No. 1 in the 1994 edition of the international competition.
The former Brazil international has been associated with Liverpool since 2021 and is one of the few backroom staff who remained at the club following Jurgen Klopp’s departure.
The 58-year-old has been responsible for the exceptional performances and class displayed by both Alisson and Caoimhin Kelleher.
As Liverpool get ready to face Southampton next, this inspiring form would definitely help Ali to manage a few more clean sheets.
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