Harvey Elliott won the match for Liverpool against Crystal Palace on Saturday, but a huge thanks goes to Alisson Becker that they took home all three points.
The Brazilian made his first appearance after sustaining a hamstring injury in the Reds’ 1-1 draw with Man City last month, and made two vital saves at Selhurst Park to help earn his side the win.
First denying Jefferson Lerma a certain goal but tipping his close-range strike onto the near post in the first half when the scores were still level, the 31-year-old then tipped away Joachim Andersen’s powerful header in the dying minutes of the game to deny Palace an equaliser.
Speaking to reporters after the game, Alisson shared his delight at his return and making such a decisive impact, even though he is aware that Liverpool were nowhere near their best.
“It was good to be back,” he said. “I was only away for three games but I missed being on the pitch a lot so I’m really happy that I could be back to help the team today.
“It always feels good to make a save to help the team. And it’s really much better if you win the games. That’s the most important thing and I’m really happy with the three points.
“We didn’t perform today in our best way but in the last 20 minutes maybe we improved a lot with the ball. Created more chances and being a little bit more aggressive in a good way.
“Making shots from outside the box, that helped a lot as well. Creating the chances and finishing it, that’s what got us the three points today.
“I think a winning team needs that kind of mentality (to keep on coming from behind.) Of course, if you can do the things better earlier (in the game), that’s what we want. But sometimes you go to the games and the things you plan, they don’t come out.”
Meanwhile, Alisson is seeing similarities between Jurgen Klopp’s current side and the Liverpool team that won the Premier League in 2019/20.
While the Brazilian is not getting carried away, he admits a second title in the club’s target this season.
“It’s important for us to win every game that we have in front of us,” he said.
“Our target, our goal is winning the league. But we need to keep our feet on the ground and play it game by game.
“The next game is the most important for us. We did that in the past when we won the league and this season, we’ll see where we can end up.”
Alisson also paid tribute to Mohamed Salah after beating Palace as the Egyptian scored his 200th Liverpool goal and 150th strike in the Premier League to level the scores, before setting up Elliott’s last-minute winner.
“Mo is an amazing player,” he said.
“He’s so important for us and he is always happy when he breaks records and when he breaks his own records.
“He’s a guy who goes for everything that he can achieve. So consistent and always performing well and even when he’s not, he’s scoring anyway. He’s that kind of guy.
“We need him sometimes to make the difference upfront and he did today.”
Salah might have been happy with his latest landmark goal after again helping make the difference for Liverpool on Saturday at Selhurst Park, but match-winner Elliott joked that the Egyptian might have been a little annoyed with the midfielder’s late decider.
The England Under-21s international carried the ball forward after receiving it from Salah, evading two defenders before finding the bottom corner from the edge of the box. By opting to shoot, he ignore the Egyptian’s own run into the area and subsequent calls for a return pass.
Such a strike was Elliott’s first of the season, with the 20-year-old now determined to add to his tally this season after getting off the mark. And he teased that Salah owed him an assist when speaking to reporters himself after the final whistle.
“I feel like I’ve given the ball to him (Salah) in many situations and maybe it’s been the wrong situation,” he said of his winner. “But I thought, you know what, just try and shoot and score and get a goal – most importantly an assist for him so he can be happy!”
“If you don’t shoot, you don’t score and it was another opportunity where it opened up nicely and I was able to get the shot off and score. We did that against Fulham with a few of the goals.
“It’s just a confidence thing. I know if you feel confident and are in the situation to shoot and test the keeper, why not? It’s your decision and today it came off.
“I need to keep doing it. I can’t stop now. Now I’ve got one, I need to get two, three, four and five. I need to keep carrying on. I can’t be happy with just getting one goal and that is it.
“I need to keep going and keep taking confidence, for myself and the team. Keep affecting games and I’m just happy to do that today.”
