Champions League 2018-19 final: 5 reasons why Tottenham lost to Liverpool

#3 Alisson stood tall when called upon

Alisson made eight saves in the match.

When Liverpool splashed a then world record fee to sign Brazilian international Alisson Becker from AS Roma, few could have begrudged them that luxury.

For many seasons, Koppites had seen their darling team lose points and trophies due to shambolic goalkeeping, with Loris Karius' show of shame in last season's Champions League decider against Real Madrid being the nadir.

In a poetic climax, Alison showed Karius what it means to be a top quality goalkeeper with his performance in the city which the German gifted last season's Champions League trophy.

While the 26-year-old was largely a spectator for the first half and most of the second, he was exceptional as usual when called upon.

The former Roma goalie faced his first shot on target in the 78th minute and he did well to parry Son's shot, before also saving spectacularly from a Christian Eriksen free kick among six other shots on target that he faced.

Just how much this meant to Liverpool's victory was evident in that at the blast of the full time whistle, all players of the newly crowned European champions ran to the 2018/2019 Premier League Golden Glove winner to praise him for his performance.

While at Roma, the Italian side's former Sporting director Monchi referred to Alisson as the 'Messi of goalkeepers' and the Brazilian showed that those words were not mere grandstanding with his displays against Tottenham.