Alisson Becker was most certainly at the races for Liverpool in the first-half of action as the visitors just about kept out a probing Real Madrid at the Bernabeu.
The Brazilian international (on a reported salary of £150,000-per-week, according to Capology) produced a stunning set of saves, most notably thwarting Vinicius Jr. from close-range before tipping a long-range Eduardo Camavinga effort onto the crossbar, inspiring some awe-filled praise from Chris Sutton.
“It is an unbelievable save from Alisson. I thought for sure that Real Madrid would be a goal up,” the pundit told BBC Radio 5 Live (via BBC Sport). “Liverpool haven’t started with the right intensity and could be a couple of goals down.”
He added, after another phenomenal contribution from the Reds shotstopper, six minutes later: “This is a brilliant save, the second one Alisson has made. It is too easy for Eduardo Camavinga to get a shot off from 25 yards out.
“It is curling into the top corner and somehow Alisson gets his fingertips on it to touch it onto the crossbar.”
The Merseysiders hardly challenged the hosts a great deal in the opening 45, despite possessing a few decent, if not quite clear-cut, chances in front of goal at the other end.
There’s no question that Jurgen Klopp will perceive it as something of a shame if we fail to make any kind of dent in the deficit suffered at Anfield in the first leg.
It has to be said that the task at hand is imposing, to put it mildly, though this Liverpool side is still capable of forcing their opponents into a higher gear and adding some excitement to a tie that has elicited a considerable number of goals in recent years.
At the very least, our Brazilian No.1 can return to L4 with his held high if he can keep up the standard of his performance for the following half and secure a rare clean sheet at the Bernabeu.