Perhaps Liverpool Football Club's shrewdest business move ever was selling Philippe Coutinho to Barcelona for £142m and reinvesting the profit to acquire Virgil van Dijk and Alisson Becker, a decision that helped reignite Liverpool’s status among the world’s elite clubs.
The Brazilian goalkeeper has won it all with the Reds, delivering scores of massive saves and clean sheets to secure his place in club history.
This season has been challenging for Alisson, however, as he was forced to miss 12 games in both the Premier League and Champions League over nearly two months due to a nagging hamstring injury.
While no one can fault Liverpool’s No. 1 for sustaining the setback, his form since returning has raised some concerns in my eyes.
Shaking off the injury rust
Starting with his first game back against Fulham on Dec. 14, Alisson has played seven matches across all competitions, recording just two clean sheets and conceding nine goals. These numbers fall short of supporting his reputation as being the best player in the world at his position.
Alisson's recent struggles have been particularly evident in the Premier League, as Fulham, Tottenham, Leicester, and Manchester United all exceeded their xG by decent margins against the Reds, which should prompt questions about his performances.
While other issues like fullbacks slumping and Ibrahima Konaté working to regain full fitness himself have certainly exacerbated Liverpool’s defensive woes, there are instances where Alisson could have bailed out his team—something top goalkeepers are expected to do.
On Manchester United’s equalizer from Amad Diallo, at least in my view, Alisson could have done better.
He dove quite late and, in hindsight, might have been better off extending a leg rather than sprawling his whole body out.
The pace and placement of Diallo’s shot, a fairly slow dribbler that barely (if at all) rose off the ground, also makes me think prime Alisson might have reacted with cat-like reflexes to preserve Liverpool’s lead.
Trent and Ibou certainly could have done more to prevent the chance from arising in the first place, but it still feels like the shot was stoppable.
The struggles to carry-on Kelleher's fine form
Alisson couldn't have done much about Lucas Bergvall’s controversial winner for Tottenham in their EFL Cup clash on Wednesday, but he was fortunate to have avoided a major howler half an hour earlier, especially at the stage in the competition when aggregate goals are key.
After attempting to slickly dribble past Bergvall, Alisson was dispossessed by the Tottenham forward, and it took a crucial block from van Dijk and a bad miss from Pedro Porro after the block rebounded to keep the game scoreless.
What makes this situation even more puzzling is that, whether by coincidence or not, the quality of Liverpool’s defense and goalkeeping was much better before Alisson’s comeback.
Caoimhín Kelleher stepped up brilliantly for the Reds when he needed to, playing a key role in stymying top-quality attacks, including clean sheets against Real Madrid and Manchester City.
Penalties are often a guessing game, but if Kylian Mbappé were to step up to take another one against Liverpool, I firmly believe I would feel more confident in Kelleher than in Alisson to thwart the Frenchman at this very moment.
Liverpool’s upcoming fixtures suggest that Kelleher will start against League Two club Accrington Stanley in the FA Cup to give Alisson a rest before the Reds' highly anticipated Premier League clash with Nottingham Forest.
While Forest are clearly the more dangerous opponent, a stark contrast in performances could fuel further questions about keeping Kelleher on the bench.
It would be unfair to say that Alisson hasn't made meaningful contributions since his return; he played like his usual self against Girona, making a top-class save to preserve a clean sheet against the competitive Spanish side, helping keep Liverpool at the top of the Champions League table.
But Liverpool are experiencing their first string of setbacks after living on cloud nine to start their campaign, and if they are to raise a major trophy this season, Alisson must be at his best and help to keep the ship on course.