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Liverpool’s Alisson Becker had a night to forget on Sunday as the Reds lost 4-1 at home against Manchester City, but his woes apparently did not end there.
The Brazilian’s performance was also rated as the worst by any Premier League player this season by Whoscored. Alisson was culpable for two of the goals Liverpool conceded and looked a shadow of himself on the pitch.
The Brazilian moved to Anfield from Roma in the summer of 2018, as Jurgen Klopp attempted to address a glaring weakness in his squad. Liverpool’s decision was vindicated by the end of the season, as the Brazilian won the Premier League Golden Glove. He was also instrumental in a second-place finish in the league and a UEFA Champions League triumph.
The former Roma goalkeeper also played a pivotal role in the following season, helping the Reds end a 30-year wait for the league title.
However, Alisson was far from his assured self against Manchester City on Sunday, making two mistakes in three second-half minutes to put Liverpool in dire straits. First, his poor clearance was easily picked up by Phil Foden, who set up Ilkay Gundogan to give City a 2-1 lead.
Alisson failed to learn from his mistakes and gave the ball away to the German a couple of minutes later. Gundogan teed up Raheem Sterling and City went 3-1 up, effectively killing the game.
The Liverpool goalkeeper’s uncharacteristic display earned him a 3.73 rating on Whoscored. Incidentally, Southampton’s Jan Bednarek had the previous worst rating of the season after his horror-show against Manchester United in the humiliating 9-0 defeat earned him a rating of 3.8.
The third worst rating is also reserved for a Liverpool player; Adrian received 3.83 after conceding seven times against Aston Villa earlier this season.
Liverpool losing ground in their title defense
Alisson has always been stellar between the sticks at Liverpool, but his desire to take risks has landed him in trouble before. Even though Liverpool were always second best on the night, the Brazilian’s mistakes only added salt to the wounds. The Reds are now fourth in the table, ten points behind Pep Guardiola’s side, who also have a game in hand.
Klopp refused to blame his goalkeeper after the game, yet the German manager will be aware that if Liverpool are to recover lost ground in their title defense, they will need Alisson back to his best.
