Liverpool could not have been in the Champions League at all

On May 28, Liverpool will play in the Champions League final, but all this could not have happened if not for the small miracle that Alisson created. Fast forward a year. 16th of May. Liverpool in the 36th round played 1:1 against West Bromwich Albion. 95th minute. All you need is a win. Alisson runs in for the last corner and completes Trent’s pass. Great header – everyone hugs the goalkeeper and celebrates the 2:1 victory! “Sometimes I practice heading in practice, but just to have fun! I feel like hitting your head! This is football. I saw the ball coming. Tried to take a good position to help partners. No one followed me – I was lucky. It’s impossible to explain everything: perhaps God touched my head with his hand, ”the goalkeeper explained after the match. In the entire 129-year history of Liverpool, Alisson became the first goalkeeper to score in an official match. The goal was really important. Liverpool had a terrible start to the year and by mid-March were in 8th place. With 10 rounds to go, they were 10 points behind the Champions League zone. On the one hand, Klopp’s team was lucky – the competitors at the finish line began to lose points together. But Liverpool also needed to go through the final stretch without errors. The loss of points against the already relegated West Brom three rounds before the end could have finished off the chances for the Champions League. But the Reds suffered the victory thanks to Alisson – and made it to the Champions League for the next season.

Alisson was very upset by the death of his father. Goal dedicated to him

For the Liverpool goalkeeper, the goal was also an important moment – for personal reasons. It’s not even a crumpled season – Alisson got it for deliveries in matches against Leicester and Man City. But the most difficult moment was definitely the death of his father. José Becker, 57, drowned near his ranch in Brazil. Due to coronavirus restrictions, Alisson was not even able to fly home to say goodbye to his dad. Goal Becker, of course, dedicated to his father. “I’m too excited. Football is my life, since childhood I played with my father. I hope he’s somewhere watching and celebrating. I didn’t go to the interview for a long time, because I can’t calmly talk about this [father’s death], I get emotional. But I want to say thank you to everyone who sent me letters with words of support – among them Everton, Carlo Ancelotti, Man City. God loves us through people. I want to thank everyone for helping me get through this. Sometimes you fight with all your might, but something doesn’t work out. I am very happy to help the team, because we are fighting together, we have an important goal – to get into the Champions League. I couldn’t be happier than now.”

Klopp considers Alisson’s shot exemplary. Used as a tutorial (and it worked)

Liverpool’s official social media accounts reacted to the victory with a photo of Alisson’s kick with the caption “Sending to the Louver”. Klopp also praised the goalkeeper. “Incredible goal! Awesome technique and the perfect moment for it. In the locker room, we have already reviewed this moment 10 times. World class goal! I promised Jon Achterberg (goalkeeping coach) to say at the press conference that Alisson was heading in training four days a week – and it finally paid off! Unfortunately, this is not true. Most likely, muscle memory from childhood, when Ali was still playing in the field, worked.