Liverpool coach Jurgen Klopp has sought to quieten the furore surrounding Alisson after the Brazilian goalkeeper made a blunder that led to Leicester scoring in the Reds’ 2-1 win over the Foxes at the King Power Stadium on Saturday.
Virgil van Dijk’s poor backpass put the keeper under pressure, but the South American still had plenty of time to clear the ball and yet, unwittingly chose to dribble Kelechi Iheanacho.
The Nigerian striker promptly robbed Alisson and set up Rachid Ghezzal for a goal that ensure a nervy ending for the Merseyside outfit.
“It was last week when he did what he did and the way everybody spoke about it, it was clear that it would happen one day that we conceded a goal because of that,” Klopp told his post-match press conference in Leicester.
In the end, the goal was a mere consolation, but it could have been the difference between victory on defeat on another day.
“But we still want to use it. I have to watch it back but I thought Joe Gomez could have cleared the situation, then Virgil for sure could have cleared it. In the end, if Alisson with the first touch puts the ball away, everything is fine.”
Alisson was involved in a eye-catching incident last week, when he calmly chipped an opposition player instead of clearing the ball and Klopp had admitted he would rather that his players kept it simple in such situations.
“For some reason, he didn’t do that, he dribbled and they scored the goal. That’s it. I said to him, it’s the best game to do it because we still won the game and we ticked that box. As a team, we are still in the period where we have to adapt to each other and not use him in the wrong moments.”
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“He’s not the solution for us, he’s an option. We did it a few times too much and it’s not cool. If we concede a second goal we have to take that as well.”
Liverpool enter the first international break of the season atop the Premier League and will likely remain there, even if other sides like Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea win their respective games.
“They had one or two situations where we needed the goalkeeper; the block from Joe Gomez was brilliant of course. We had these situations but they had them as well, so we are the deserved winner and that’s the only thing I’m interested in,” Klopp added.
The Reds will next be in action when they visit the capital to play the Lilywhites on September 15.