With the way Liverpool have defended for much of this season, Alisson Becker has probably been enjoying his time in Qatar with Brazil. Across his first two appearances at the 2022 World Cup, against Serbia and Switzerland, he didn’t face a single shot on target.
He could’ve worn the same kit for both matches, such was his relative lack of involvement. But that wasn’t the case in the Round of 16 on Monday evening. While the tournament favourites swept South Korea aside 4-1, Alisson had to deal with six goal attempts.
They were of sufficient difficulty that his performance drew plaudits from pundits and fans after the match. Becker’s efforts drew fair comparison with his best ever games for Liverpool.
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We can assess this using data from FBRef. During Alisson’s 80 minutes on the pitch – he was sentimentally substituted for Weverton, there’s no cause for alarm – South Korea had seven shots collectively valued at 0.44 expected goals.
Such was the quality of their finishing, the chances were worth 1.55 in the post-shot model. In other words, the power and placement of the efforts added 1.1 to the value of the opportunities. It was little wonder Becker was finally beaten, with the deflection on Seung-ho Paik’s fine strike only increasing the difficulty of the potential save from the Brazilian’s perspective.
Across his four-and-a-half years with Liverpool, Alisson has only had six games in which the opposition’s finishing improved their shots by at least 1.1 xG. They were all memorable matches, and many of them proved hugely significant, albeit in different ways and not all in a positive sense.
The first of them occurred in January 2019, when Manchester City beat the Reds 2-1 at the Etihad Stadium, a result which proved vital in that seasons Premier League title race. Far better was to come four months later, when Barcelona visited Anfield for a Champions League semi-final clash.
Looking back now, people remember the goals and understandably so. An understrength Liverpool side needed four and got them, with the last of the strikes so memorably unique it was voted the club’s greatest goal of all time last summer. But had it not been for the brilliance of Alisson, who successfully dealt with a remarkable 2.6 post-shot expected goals, the Reds would have needed to score even more times.
Two other instances of Becker being severely tested occurred this year. The first was also in Europe, in the second leg of the quarter-final against Benfica. While the fact Alisson was beaten three times didn’t matter in terms of Liverpool advancing, the identity of one of the strikers he faced has certainly become relevant. Darwin Nunez’ three chances that night were valued at 0.38 xG, but he was able to generate a post-shot total of 1.16 and collected a goal for his trouble.
The most recent example of Alisson being given such a stern examination also ended 3-3 at Anfield, except this time the visitors were Brighton and Hove Albion. There must be something about sides beginning with ‘B’ playing away against Liverpool. The Reds’ performance in that match was so shaky that it forced Jurgen Klopp to move away from his side’s tried and trusted 4-3-3 formation and towards variations on a 4-4-2 theme. Games of this nature almost always carry an impact somewhere.
And Alisson’s latest tricky match with his national team might be a footstep on the road to becoming a World Cup winner. Assuming he is called upon in the next round against Croatia, the 30-year-old should be up to the task.
Becker has saved 7.6 goals more than expected in league football in 2022/23, the best figure of any of the 147 goalkeepers who have appeared in England, France, Germany, Italy and Spain. It’s a figure that has only been topped four times in Europe’s top five leagues in any of the last three completed campaigns. Alisson is in the form of his life and it could help carry Brazil and Liverpool to glory in the next six months.
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