What an incredible couple of games Liverpool had against Chelsea. We could have won both ties if we had a bit of luck and it was refreshing to see Daniel Sturridge return with a couple of incredible goals against his former club.
The Englishman proved he can play in Jurgen Klopp’s team and more importantly, he could be that impact sub we have missed over the years.
The only thing that we have to ensure is his fitness and we should see double digits from the Englishman (he has scored four goals this season).
Although Sturridge’s goal was fantastic on Saturday, there was one more star on that evening as he kept us in the game with a number of crucial moments.
Alisson might have been beaten by Eden Hazard but he was quick off the line on a number of times.
Willian was thwarted by the Brazilian in the first half and his finest moment came when he charged towards Hazard and saved a certain goal in the second half.
The Liverpool defence fell asleep as Chelsea took a quick free-kick but Alisson was alert to keep the danger at bay.
Alisson making his presence felt at the back
It’s been almost 10 games this season and the Brazilian has been a rock for us throughout the campaign. There was one small mistake in that game against Leicester but the Brazilian has learned from that error and doesn’t waste time on the ball any more.
Further, his distribution has been excellent and the 26-year-old is only getting better with each game under his belt.
The saves against the Blues also speaks volumes of his mentality. I am certain if it was Loris Karius or Simon Mignolet in between the sticks, we would have conceded one more goal, basis the chances Chelsea created.
There was also a moment where he saved Georginio Wijnaldum as the Dutchman played a back pass which could have been intercepted but our star keeper read the danger and rushed off his line to kick the ball into play.
His communication with the back four is exceptional as well and fortunately, we also have someone of the calibre of Virgil van Dijk keeping things tight at the back.
The 26-year-old cost us a whopping €75m (h/t Guardian) and he was the costliest keeper before Chelsea broke the record by signing Kepa Arrizabalaga a few days later.
Alisson might not be younger than Kepa but the Brazilian has been the better keeper this season and we finally have someone that can be trusted in between the sticks.
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Pepe Reina was the last keeper that gave us some sort of assurance when starting behind the backline and we now have someone who can grow and get better in the coming years.
