Alisson still “cannot explain” what happened when he scored for Liverpool against West Bromwich Albion.
The goalkeeper famously nodded in the winner from a corner in the latter stages of the 2020/21 season as the Reds hunted down a Champions League place. He’s one of six keepers to score in the Premier League and Alisson’s header went down as one of the most memorable moments from the Jurgen Klopp era.
But, writing in the Players’ Tribune, the Brazilian has revealed he didn’t even see the ball hit the back of the net. “Six days after [my son] Rafael was born, something happened that I still cannot explain,” he wrote.
“We were playing a crucial match against West Brom. We were fighting for our place in the Champions League, and we had to win that match. It was one of those days where it feels like nothing is working, and it was 1-1 with a few seconds remaining. As a keeper, you are just standing in your box in those moments, feeling helpless.
“But then we won a corner. And our goalkeeping coach shouted for me to run up the pitch. There was nothing to lose. So I ran up the pitch as fast as I could, and I arrived in the box just as Trent was taking the corner. To be honest, as a keeper, you never, ever, ever think that you are actually going to score. Just get into the box and create chaos.
“The next thing I know, the ball is coming at my face. I flick my head and I fall to the ground. Then I am just surrounded by a warm glow. That’s the only way I can describe it. Everyone is hugging me. Thiago is hugging me and crying. Firmino is hugging me and crying and laughing at the same time.
“Mo is celebrating like a little kid, jumping up and down. I have never seen him so happy after someone else scored a goal hahaha!! Complete joy.”
(Image: Photo by Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images)
Unusually, Liverpool risked sending the keeper up to find a winner from a drawing position – usually teams only throw a no.1 up to try and salvage a point when losing. But such was Liverpool’s desperate need to earn all three points at The Hawthorns as it attempted to earn a Champions League spot in what had been a dismissal defense of the Premier League title.
It ultimately proved invaluable and the victory was one of five in a row at the end of the season which secured a third-place finish. In fact, Alisson’s header wasn’t even needed in the end as a draw at West Brom would have secured a Champions League spot.
The Liverpool star also wrote about the tragic death of his father in the Players’ Tribune, when he sadly drowned in Brazil three months before the birth of Alisson’s son.
“When he died, it destroyed me,” the 32-year-old wrote. “I could not even think about football. I had to keep remembering that I even played football, and that we were fighting for the Top 4. It was even more complicated, because it was right in the middle of the pandemic, and the logistics of getting home were a nightmare.
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“My wife was pregnant with our third child, and Covid was exploding again in Brazil. Her doctor said that it was risky for her to travel, so she had to stay in Liverpool with our kids. That was total anguish for her, because she loved my father so much. We always joked that he loved her the most. If we ever had a little disagreement in front of my father, he would always say, “I think Natália is right.”
“The following two or three days were a blur. The next thing I remember was all the flowers coming to our house. From Virgil, Andy, Fabinho, Firmino, Thiago…. on and on. All my brothers. Everyone sent us flowers with a note of condolences.
“And not just from my teammates, but even Pep Guardiola and Carlo Ancelotti sent me a condolence letter. It really touched my heart. Every 10 minutes, there was another knock at our door, with a delivery man holding flowers.”
