Alisson has received praise from Merseyside rival Jordan Pickford, with the Everton goalkeeper hailing his Liverpool counterpart’s one-on-one shot-stopping as well as his overall influence on the Liverpool team.
For the majority of the time that Alisson — who overcame a head injury scare this week — has been in England, he has been widely regarded as the best goalkeeper in the Premier League. And his quality clearly does not go unnoticed by his fellow ‘keepers.
In a clip shared on social media by TNT Sports, Pickford was asked who the Premier League’s best goalkeeper is in five different areas: distribution, penalties, one-on-one saves, reflexes, and influence on their team.
Pickford plumped for himself in two of the sections — penalties and reflexes — while giving Alisson the nod for one-on-one saves and influence on his team; Pickford selected Manchester City’s Ederson for the distribution question.
Meanwhile, Liverpool confirmed on Friday that Alisson was returning to the club after sustaining a head injury during Brazil’s victory over Colombia in World Cup qualifying.
Alisson and Davinson Sanchez collided in the second half of the game, with the former Spurs man being taken off on a stretcher.
“Alisson Becker has departed the Brazil national team set-up and will return to Liverpool,” a Liverpool statement said. “The goalkeeper was forced off in the second half of his nation’s World Cup qualifier with Colombia in the early hours of Friday following a collision. Alisson is travelling back to Merseyside and will undergo assessment from the Reds’ medical staff.”
Brazil’s national team doctor, Rodrigo Lasmar, had already allayed fears that Alisson might have been dealing with a more serious problem. He said after the game: “Alisson suffered a head injury. He was replaced due to a suspected concussion, so now we will follow the protocol recommended by the CBF (Brazil’s soccer federation). He will undergo the recommended imaging tests. First, we will perform a CT scan, followed by a diffusion MRI.
“If all the tests are negative and normal, we will then perform a cognitive test, and then we will evaluate the player. If everything is normal, we will conduct a series of observation tests over the next few days to see whether or not he would be able to travel with us and go to Argentina for our next game.”
“Today, the first step is to perform the necessary tests and assessments and monitor the player over the next few days, which is the protocol. Alisson is normal.
“I believe you saw the images of him on the bench and after the game. He is completely normal now, without any complaints. During the treatment on the field, he did not report any fainting or memory loss, he was conscious and oriented the whole time. We substituted him because he had minor complaints, he thought he was a little slower and there was some possibility of a concussion, so in cases of this suspicion, the recommendation is to substitute the player.”
