Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson saw plenty of action after returning from injury during Tuesday’s Champions League win over Girona, and manager Arne Slot was full of praise for the Brazilian, who played a big part in maintaining his perfect record.
Alisson has been sidelined with a hamstring injury since October 5, and while his replacement Caoimhin Kelleher impressed in his absence, Alisson showed why he is Slot’s first choice with several saves before Mohamed Salah’s penalty secured Liverpool the win.
“Alisson definitely didn’t look like he was going to be out for two months,” Slot said.
“I joked with the players that maybe they wanted to see how ready he was because they allowed him to make so many saves. But he showed why I always say he is our number one,” he said.
Liverpool defender Andy Robertson also praised his goalkeeper but was unhappy with how many chances Girona were given. In the first half, Alisson defended Alejandro Frances and Miguel Gutierrez.
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“It’s been gone for a while, so maybe we needed to check it wasn’t rusty, and it definitely wasn’t,” Robertson said.
“But we need to have more control. We can’t leave so many gaps, we have to push aggressively and do much better. Especially in the first half, there were a bit too many forwards and backwards for our liking,” he added.
The slot was also a compliment to an opponent who really caused problems for Liverpool, but ultimately suffered a fifth defeat in six games, thanks in large part to Alisson.
“I almost feel sorry for Girona, they are a top-class team and deserve much more than the three points they have so far. They had a really good game plan today, but we had a really good goalie,” Slot said.
