Similar to Bill Shankly, Brian Clough had a knack for a snappy one-liner. He once quipped, “I wouldn’t say I was the best manager in the business. “But I placed first,” I said.
Alisson Becker must be experiencing something similar. Whether they consider him “the top one” or not, few people would omit him from the discussion about the finest goalie in the world right now despite his seeming unwillingness to boast about his accomplishments.
Prior to the release of the 2023 Yashin Trophy candidates, that is how it appeared. The Lev Award is given to the world’s top goalkeeper as part of the Ballon d’Or celebration and is named after the famed Russian shot-blocker. Alisson won the first award in 2019 and finished in second place in 2022, but he isn’t one of the ten nominees this time.
In 2022–2023, the Brazilian was the best goalkeeper in Europe’s top five leagues, saving 10.1 goals more than anticipated. Aaron Ramsdale performed at a level below that of a typical goalkeeper last season, therefore does he deserve to be nominated ahead of Alisson despite Arsenal’s better-than-expected season? Naturally not, but that is what has taken place.
The frankly absurd protection Becker frequently received from his teammates during the 2017 season only serves to highlight the statistic’ astounding nature. The attempts directed at Alisson had an average post-shot anticipated goal (PSxG) value of 0.33 as opposed to the attempts on target’s average PSxG value of around 0.27, implying the chances were roughly 22% higher than usual.
You can find stoppers with Alavés, Angers, Benevento, Crotone, Eibar, and Elche, among other teams, if you scroll down the list of goalkeepers from England, France, Germany, Italy, and Spain over the past five years who faced comparable challenges from opponents. Fair enough, Manuel Neuer’s 2020–21 season is also included in the sample, but it’s obvious that the majority of the clubs which publish these numbers are not those that Liverpool aims to emulate.
One benefit of reaching rock bottom, as the Reds have, is that there is only one path forward—up. Of course, it would be incorrect to think that things will automatically get better, but the good news is that Liverpool has had a far better start to 2023–24.
