Alisson is Liverpool’s most important player this season, according to former Chelsea player Tony Cascarino.
The Reds are having to get through a fitness crisis at the moment, with key men such as Trent Alexander-Arnold, Virgil van Dijk, Joe Gomez and Mohamed Salah all missing, to name just a few.
This season looks set to be a huge test of Jurgen Klopp’s defence, with Fabinho having to slot into an auxiliary centre-back role, and youngsters such as Nathaniel Phillips and Rhys Williams filling in, too.
Writing for the Times, Cascarino outlined why Alisson is more important than anyone in 2020/21, due mainly to the drop-off in quality between him and Adrian:
It’s obviously been another tough week for Liverpool fans with the injury to Joe Gomez and Mohamed Salah testing positive for coronavirus.
But for me their key man is Alisson. Even without Gomez and the injured Virgil van Dijk they still have players who can perform in central defence such as Fabinho, and young Nat Phillips has potential.
Diogo Jota can stand in for Salah but as we’ve seen with Adrián’s previous errors he is not a quality replacement for Alisson.
If the Liverpool No 1 goalkeeper stays fit they will still be title favourites.
Read Liverpool Verdict
Put simply, if Liverpool want to retain the Premier League title this season, Alisson must stay fit.
They have managed to get by without him once, but another long absence, especially without Van Dijk and Gomez, could be fatal to their chances.
I believe the Brazilian is the best goalkeeper in the world currently, making everything look so easy and excelling with his distribution, decision-making and speed of thought.
Alisson also makes those around him improve, whereas Adrian seemed to spread a nervousness when he was in the team.
