In an underwhelming season of general underperformance at Liverpool, Alisson Becker's standards refused to drop.
The Brazil international goalkeeper was one of a rare few whose contributions did not dip during a campaign that has left the Reds outside of the Champions League for the first time since 2017.
While talk of midfield rebuilds has gathered pace and reports of interest in defenders are becoming more prevalent, there is no doubting the future of the goalkeeper position at Anfield as Alisson gets set to extend his claims to eventually become known as one of the all-time greats on Merseyside. The manager has already confirmed that goalkeeper is the only position he will not look to strengthen this summer.
Now up to 101 clean sheets since he moved to Anfield for what was a world record-breaking £65m five years ago, the Selecao international continues to go from strength to strength in goal for the Reds and with three years left on his contract at the age of 30, Alisson has plenty of time and space to do continue his quest.
The former Roma star enjoyed a fine term and the thought of where Jurgen Klopp's team might have finished without his vital contributions is enough to induce a wince. Alisson is surely the frontrunner to be considered the club's Player of the Year for 2022/23.
The 30-year-old made some vital and impressive saves in both the 2-0 win at Newcastle and goalless draw at Chelsea in February and April, respectively, while a 3-1 win at home to Southampton in November might have been very different had the visitors not been thwarted by the Liverpool goalkeeper on the day.
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Eye-catching saves were made to deny the likes of Martin Odegaard, Vinicius Junior and Antony in games against Arsenal, Real Madrid and Manchester United, but the most impressive aspect to Alisson's goalkeeping is that he rarely needs to make the implausible stops due to his all-round ability elsewhere.
His sweeper-keeper instincts are massively helpful to a backline that prefers to play on the front foot and higher up the pitch when it can and Alisson's ability to read the danger early was a big reason behind his 14 clean sheets, which is a tally that was only bettered by Nick Pope at Newcastle.
Such a skill was most notable in the closing stages of the 2-2 draw with Arsenal when, after a pulsating fight-back from two goals down, Alisson denied Arsenal's last-gasp counter-attack to steal it by running from his line early to get there ahead of Bukayo Saka.
The sight of Alisson regularly racing from his goalline and out of his area to punt away the danger - usually with an impudent outside-of-the-foot pass - became a regular one to Reds fans last term. The big saves aren't needed when a goalkeeper is more proactive.
A vital interception late on in the 1-0 win over Fulham to stop Carlos Vinicius at Anfield led to Klopp waxing lyrical about the 2018 summer signing. The Liverpool manager revealed his player was almost moved to tears, such was his joy at the clean sheet.
"Alisson was close to crying with a clean sheet," Klopp said. "It's pretty rare for us this season! It's very nice, especially for him. He kept a clean sheet for us, especially in that situation. He is the most consistent player we have this season. That is good news. If his level dropped as well we would be completely lost."
Of course, it was not a flawless campaign for the No.1. A mix-up with Joe Gomez in the defeat to Leeds in October was entirely avoidable, while Vinicius Junior's second in the 5-2 loss to Real Madrid at Anfield - a goal that evened the tie on the night - should not have happened.
The shot-stopper was also culpable for a concession in the 2-2 draw to Wolves in the FA Cup in January when a pass out to the right side was intercepted by Goncalo Guedes just yards away. "The goal should not happen, but we all know how often Ali saves our backsides," Klopp said.
But given Liverpool's general struggles of last season, Alisson was undoubtedly one of their outstanding performers. After a worrying year that has left many questions being asked about the club's ability to rebuild and challenge once more, supporters are at least of the belief that there is no-one they would rather have as their custodian between the sticks.
Season rating: 9/10.
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