It wasn't just Mohamed Salah celebrating a century at Anfield on Saturday.
As the Egyptian notched his 100th home goal for Liverpool, at the other end of the pitch Alisson Becker was quietly reaching a similar landmark of clean sheets
In a season of such tumult for Jurgen Klopp's side, the consistently impressive form of their Brazilian goalkeeper has been a reassuring constant,
A second shut-out in four days, Alisson could yet claim at least a share of the Premier League Golden Gloves award for the third time
But Virgil van Dijk has underlined how Alisson's value for Liverpool extends beyond the confines of his 18-yard box.
Virgil Van Dijk:
"That's the biggest quality, how he is as a person and how important he is for the group," says the Dutchman. "Obviously on the pitch his qualities are there for everyone to see - his contribution, the saves, the leadership, that's all very important.
"But away from the pitch is just as important, the qualities he has. He is a big, big leader in the group and someone a lot of players look up to. He's an example for a lot of players, especially goalkeepers.
I'm very glad that he's my goalkeeper and we have been very successful. Obviously this (100 clean sheets) is for him a big moment and hopefully there are many more to come."
Alisson
"I don't know how much it means, 100, I hope I'm going to reach 200, 300, as many as possible,"
"But this is not only a number of myself, it's from all the boys, from all the staff, goalkeeping coach department, everybody. We work together with a common goal and a clean sheet is a common goal of ourselves."
Van Dijk:
"It's very important to have a goalkeeper you can trust," he says.
"Most of the time it starts with him, the attack, that's just how it is. Maybe sometimes that is overlooked a bit. He is the one who has the highest risk factor in the team as well, if he makes a mistake then it's a goal.
"It's the whole doing it together type of feeling that we feel we have. That's the basis. He would probably say that without the boys in front of him and the midfielders and strikers doing their work, this (100 clean sheets) would not be possible. Everyone is part of it, but he should definitely be proud of it."
Comments