In today’s Liverpool roundup, we take a look at what news has been doing the rounds for the Reds. Alisson Becker talks about his recovery from injury, Virgil Van Dijk congratulates Lionel Messi, and former left-back John Arne Riise is baffled by the omission of Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andrew Robertson in the FIFA World XI.
Alisson on his road to recovery
Report: Alisson is nearing a return to action for Liverpool after injuring himself on the opening weekend against Norwich City. The goalkeeper told liverpoolfc.com: “I’m on a good way, I think we are nearly there. I can go outside to the pitch to do some goalkeeper work and I feel very well. I feel confident and I think now it’s just about getting all my power, all my confidence to come back and do what I love to do.
“The games, the atmosphere at Anfield, the away games, all games when I watch on the TV, I just think how I want to play, I want to be there, I want to help my teammates. I’m looking forward [to being back], I can’t wait anymore!”
Alisson also spoke on his replacement Adrian, saying: “I think the boys are doing very well, all the team [and] Adrian especially.
“He’s a special guy who came late in the season, he just came and shows everyone his value, not just as a player but as a person and that is the more important thing. He is doing very well on the pitch. I have peace to recover in a proper way so it’s better for everyone.”
Verdict: There can be little debate that Alisson has been missed between the sticks for Liverpool. The Reds have conceded eight goals in the first seven games of the season, as opposed to letting in just four in the first seven last campaign.
Despite these statistics, Adrian has performed relatively well in replace of the Brazilian, making a crucial save against Chelsea at the weekend to keep Liverpool in front, and producing an incredible stop in the game against Napoli.
However, despite Adrian’s heroics, there is no doubt Alisson will be a welcomed addition back to the team after winning the UEFA Goalkeeper of the Year and the Men’s Best FIFA Men’s Goalkeeper trophy thanks to his sublime displays last year as Liverpool conceded just 22 Premier League goals all season.
Van Dijk’s message to Messi
Report: Van Dijk sent a classy message to Lionel Messi, Megan Rapinoe and Alisson after the Dutchman lost out on the Men’s FIFA Best award to the Barcelona man. He said on his Instagram page:
“It’s a great honour to be named in #TheBest XI along with such an incredible group of players. I would like to say a big thank you to all of my teammates at Liverpool, as well as the national team, for all of your continued support. Congratulations too to my #LFC family on their well deserved individual awards! Well done to @alissonbecker on being named the best Goalkeeper in the world and of course to the Boss ? for being Coach of the Year ? Finally, congratulations to @leomessi on winning Men’s Best Player and to @mrapinoe for winning Women’s Best Player!
#FIFAFootballAwards #TheBestAwards”
Verdict: Van Dijk, after helping Liverpool win the Champions League and finish on a record-breaking 97 points for the club in the Premier League, was perhaps unlucky not to win the award. However, Messi did score 51 goals in 50 games and register 22 assists across the board last season – his best return since being involved in 86 goals in 2014-15.
It, of course, just a matter of opinion. Do you prefer to see a defender concede very few goals? Or are you more in favour of a goalscoring machine? In truth, both of them won major trophies, and each was the best player for their respective club in doing so. Of course, this has brought on some controversy, with pundits such as Paul Merson claiming it is ‘an absolute joke’ to choose Messi over Van Dijk, he told The Debate.
Riise fuming at Robertson & Alexander-Arnold omission
Report: Former Liverpool man Riise has taken to Twitter to express his frustration that fellow left-back Robertson was denied a place in the FIFA World XI. The Norweigan tweeted: “I’m a massive Messi fan, best player ever!! But If @VirgilvDijk didn’t win it this year, a CB will never win it. And how on earth didn’t @andrewrobertso5 and @trentaa98 get voted best LB and RB?”
Verdict: Indeed it seems that most of the football community is in agreement with Riise, with Dejan Lovren and Steven Gerrard just a few to join in on the controversial news, and when you break it down you will struggle to argue otherwise.
As shown by @FootyAccums, Robertson kept 26 clean sheets, as opposed to Marcelo’s six, whilst the Scotland international provided 13 assists as Marcelo bagged just six.
As for Alexander-Arnold, he provided 15 assists in the year, as opposed to Ramos – who actually played centre-back throughout the year – who provided just one and kept 15 clean sheets, as opposed to Alexander-Arnold’s 22.
Furthermore, Real Madrid crashed out at the Round of 16 stages in the Champions League, as Liverpool won the title. The Reds finished second on 97 points, just as Los Blancos finished third on 68 points, and went through three managers in one season as a result of poor performances.