Alisson denied Jarrod Bowen from the spot to ensure Liverpool’s 1-0 win over West Ham, enhancing his record as Europe’s best penalty-stopper.
A moment of clumsiness from Joe Gomez gave West Ham the opportunity to level on the cusp of half-time at Anfield, bringing down Bowen in the box for a spot-kick.
It came after a lengthy VAR check and various attempts by the likes of Virgil van Dijk and Thiago to put him off, but ultimately, the England winger was thwarted by a brilliant Alisson save.
Liverpool supporters have grown accustomed to the myriad talents of their No. 1, but the past four days have only underlined how valuable he is, with two match-defining moments in back-to-back Premier League wins.
An assist for the winner against Man City came before this latest penalty stop, which was the sixth missed of the 13 Alisson has faced in the Premier League.
54% – Alisson has only conceded seven of the 13 penalties he has faced in the Premier League (54% – 2 saved, 4 off target), the lowest percentage of any goalkeeper to face at least ten spot-kicks in the competition. Expert. pic.twitter.com/DNYGSx6NmW
— OptaJoao (@OptaJoao) October 19, 2022
Though only two of those have been saves, that another four of those 13 – or 30.7 percent – have been off target is no fluke, more a symptom of the Brazilian’s presence between the sticks.
It does not only reflect on his time with Liverpool, as in the past five-and-a-bit seasons no goalkeeper in Europe has a better record on penalties.
Since 2017-18, Alisson has only conceded 10 of the 18 penalties he has faced in league games for Roma and Liverpool (56%).
No goalkeeper to face 15+ pens in Europe's big-five leagues has a better ratio than that in this time. #LFC #LIVWHU
— Michael Reid (@michael_reid11) October 19, 2022
Though penalties are often described as a lottery, Alisson clearly shortens the odds of his opponent finding the back of the net – in fact, almost to a 50-50.
Over the course of his entire career for club and country, the 30-year-old has conceded 19 of a possible 32 spot-kicks outside of shootouts, with a 40.63 percent success rate.
That includes denying Lionel Messi in a 1-0 friendly defeat to Argentina while in a Brazil shirt, while he has stopped penalties from Jorginho, Victor Osimhen and now Bowen for Liverpool.
“We play for one of the best clubs in the world and to have this goalkeeper with us is obviously something we need,” Virgil van Dijk told Amazon Prime after the win.
“You can see it, it’s a great moment to save that penalty just before the break.”
Speaking on his save and the process behind it, Alisson added: “I don’t tell too much about that! I think it was a good save.
“In football, everybody studies everybody. The striker studies the goalkeepers, the goalkeepers study the strikers, or the penalty-takers.
“I won’t talk too much about that, about the things I do!”
Fan Comments