Twelve months is a long time in football.
Rewind to April 2018 and Liverpool had Loris Karius in goal after Simon Mignolet had struggled in the first half of the season. We all know how that worked out…
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Loris Karius made two howlers in the 2017/2018 Champions League final as Liverpool were beaten by Real Madrid
Jurgen Klopp moved to rectify his big problem between the sticks last summer by bringing in Alisson Becker from Roma in a €75m (£66.9m) deal.
Eyebrows were raised at the time at the size of the fee – a world record amount for a ‘keeper – but few would argue now that it hasn’t been money well spent.
Ably protected by Virgil van Dijk and co., Alisson has been outstanding for Liverpool in his debut season in English football.
The Brazilian has been ever-present in a title-chasing side that has conceded only 20 goals in 36 Premier League games this season, while he’s also been crucial to their run to the Champions League semi-finals.
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Alisson Becker has been superb for Liverpool domestically and in Europe this season
And this weekend could well see the 26-year-old from Sao Paulo break a Liverpool record.
Should Newcastle fail to score against the Reds at St James’ Park on Saturday, Alisson will claim his 21st clean sheet of the Premier League season.
That would see him surpass Pepe Reina, who had 20 shutouts in both the 2005/06 and 2008/09 campaigns.
He’ll also have the final game of the season, at home to Wolves, to claim the record if he fails to do so against Newcastle.
Alisson's stats for Liverpool in 2018/19
Premier League
Appearances: 36
Goals conceded: 20
Clean sheets: 20
Saves: 70
Champions League
Appearances: 11
Goals conceded: 12
Clean sheets: 4
Saves: 33
“I’m fancying him to do it,” Reina, now with AC Milan, told Liverpoolfc.com.
“Although, he’s played more games than me because I think I played 32 or 33 games to complete 20 clean sheets and he’s played 36!
“But still it’s a great achievement. I’m looking forward to [him breaking the record]. If it’s Saturday against Newcastle, good.
“If it’s the last game of the league, even better if that means Liverpool is the Premier League champion.
“It’s the goalkeepers’ union as we say. We have mutual respect for each other and I admire him because he’s not just a goalkeeper, but a great goalkeeper in a club that I love.”
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Pepe Reina made 394 appearances for the Merseyside club from 2005 to 2013
While claiming a club record would be a proud moment for Alisson, he’ll have his eyes on an ever bigger prize – the Premier League title.
Liverpool are battling Manchester City to take the crown, sitting a point behind Pep Guardiola’s side with two games left to play.
They are also in the hunt for the Champions League trophy, although face a huge task to qualify for the final after a 3-0 defeat to Barcelona at Camp Nou in the first leg of their last four showdown this week.
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Fixtures left to play
Liverpool – Newcastle (away, Saturday May 4), Wolves (home, Sunday May 12)
Manchester City – Leicester (home, Monday May 6), Brighton (away, Sunday May 12)
And it’s not just former Liverpool goalkeepers singing Alisson’s praise, with current no.2 Mignolet hailing him as the best in the business.
“As a goalkeeper, you learn from the guys you work with,” he told the Mail. “He is Brazil n.o 1 ahead of [Man City goalkeeper] Ederson. The main difference between the two is that Ali is probably better with his hands. He’s the most complete goalkeeper I’ve seen in my career. He is so calm.”
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