Arne Slot sings Alisson’s praises after returning goalkeeper helps Liverpool to win over Girona

GIRONA – Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson Becker saw plenty of action in his return from injury in the 1-0 Champions League win at Girona on Dec 10, and manager Arne Slot was full of praise for the Brazilian who played a big role in maintaining their perfect record.

Alisson had been out with a hamstring injury since Oct 5, and while his replacement Caoimhin Kelleher impressed during his absence, he showed why he is Slot’s first choice with several saves before Mohamed Salah’s penalty gave the Reds three points.

“Alisson definitely didn’t look like he’d been out for two months,” Slot said.

“I joked with the players that maybe they wanted to see how ready he was because they let him make so many saves. But he showed why I always say that he’s our No. 1.”

Liverpool defender Andrew Robertson also praised his goalkeeper but was unhappy with how many chances they allowed Girona, with Alisson pulling off saves from Alejandro Frances and Miguel Gutierrez in the opening half.

“He has been out for a while so maybe we had to see if he was rusty or not and he certainly wasn’t,” he said.

“But we have to have more control. We can’t leave so many gaps, we have to press aggressively and a lot better. Especially in the first half, it was a bit too back and forth for our taste.”

Champions League group-phase leaders Liverpool have virtually sealed a place in the last 16 with their victory.

They have made a stunning start in the competition under Slot, winning all six of their matches to move five points clear at the top. Teams finishing in the top eight will avoid an extra round of play-off matches.

But the English giants, six-time winners of the competition, were given a tough night by Champions League debutants Girona, who fell to a fifth defeat and are on the verge of elimination.

“If you ask me about all six games, I’m really pleased with all the results... (but) I’m far from pleased about the performance tonight,” Slot added.

“(We had) hardly any control at all over the game, maybe the second half was a bit better but then I’m trying to be positive.”

After their Merseyside derby clash at Everton last weekend was called off because of a storm, Slot was able to pick a fresh side, going with arguably his strongest available team to try and assure a top-eight finish as soon as possible.

They pinned the hosts back in the first 10 minutes and Girona goalkeeper Paulo Gazzaniga, the former second choice at Tottenham Hotspur, pushed away a Joe Gomez header.

After that, Michel Sanchez’s side found their footing on a chilly night at their sold-out Montilivi Stadium, reduced to under-10,000 capacity due to Uefa regulations, and they began to put Alisson to the test.

The goalkeeper saved from Frances and then denied winger Bryan Gil, on loan from Spurs, who slipped as he ran through on Liverpool’s goal.

Alisson also beat away a Gutierrez drive, as the qualities of the side that pushed Real Madrid close for the Spanish La Liga title last season shone through.

He was tested again early in the second half by former Bournemouth forward Arnaut Danjuma.

Despite Girona’s valiant efforts, Liverpool proved hard to stop and the Premier League leaders took the lead with a controversial penalty won by Luis Diaz.

The Colombian winger went down under a challenge from Donny van de Beek and after a video assistant refereee review, the referee pointed to the spot, much to the home side’s frustration.

Salah sent Gazzaniga the wrong way to net his 50th Champions League goal, pulling the Egyptian level with Filippo Inzaghi as the 10th highest scorer of all time in the competition.

Slot replaced the wasteful Darwin Nunez with Cody Gakpo as he tried to kill the game off, and Girona were deflated after conceding and unable to make further inroads as their Champions League dream draws to a close. REUTERS, AFP