The last week has seen Liverpool drop points in two-consecutive games, whittling their lead at the top of the Premier League table down to a precarious three points over Manchester City, with Tottenham only a further two points behind.
At the heart of the Reds’ dip in form is the suddenly leaky defence. Though Liverpool still boast the best defensive record in the league, of the 15 goals they’ve conceded this season seven have come since the start of 2019.
They’ve gone from conceding just eight goals in their first 20 games, to seven in their last five.
Though there are mitigating circumstances, not least an injury crisis that has seen midfielder Fabinho play at centre-back at times, there’s a cause for concern further behind the makeshift back-line.
Alisson was brought in as a record signing in July to solve the Reds’ goalkeeping woes from last season, with the £56 million spent on bringing the Brazilian from Roma the most paid for a keeper in history – until Chelsea smashed that record later in the summer.
It proved to be a shrewd investment for the first part of the season, as his form in goal, alongside that of Virgil van Dijk’s in front of him, set the tone for an improved Liverpool defence. Though Alisson was prone to the odd instance of putting his team in trouble by overplaying when the ball was at his feet, as a shot-stopper and organiser of his back-line, the 26-year-old was proving to be the real deal.
Something has gone wrong since the calendars switched over to 2019, however. From looking like one of the best goalkeepers in Europe, never mind just in England, Alisson has suddenly started letting in more shots than he saves.
In the new year, among goalkeepers from the Premier League’s ‘Big Six’, the Liverpool man has conceded more goals than anyone else.
More damning, however, is how his shot-stopping ratio compares with all keepers in the league, not just those from the traditional powerhouses.
Alisson has conceded seven times from the 11 shots on target he’s faced so far in the league in 2019, a save percentage of 36.4 that is the worst among all 20 goalkeepers with three or more league appearances this calendar year.
The injury crisis in front of him hasn’t helped, of course, with Liverpool’s patchwork defence a reason that teams are getting better chances to score against them. But Alisson going from one of the best to the very worst is cause for concern.
