Interview'One of the reasons I joined' – Alisson on Anfield importance, injury recovery and Man Utd clash
Liverpool will be giving everything they have to bring joy to Anfield against Manchester United on Sunday, pledged Alisson Becker – for whom the fixture stirs special memories.
The Reds boast a perfect record on home soil so far this season, delivering victories in each of their 11 fixtures in all competitions.
Their next challenge comes in the form of Erik ten Hag’s United, with the fierce rivals set to face off at 4.30pm GMT in the Premier League.
They’ll do so in the midst of an increased capacity at Anfield, with the expanded Anfield Road Stand upper tier set to open to fans for the first time and take the attendance beyond 57,000.
“Looking forward [to that] for sure,” goalkeeper Alisson told Liverpoolfc.com during a pre-match interview at the AXA Training Centre.
“At the games when you see the stadium with that place empty, I think you can see that when that place will be full the stadium can be even louder.
“The supporters are really important for us and I’m looking forward to seeing 57,000 people pushing us forward and giving us a big boost, not only for this game but for the rest of the season. The supporters can be our 12th player on the pitch and they can help us.
“They helped in the past already, creating amazing atmospheres in so many difficult moments for the team, and now is a moment as well that we need them and they can be sure that on the pitch we are going to give our life to give joy for them and to give them happiness.”
Anfield encounters against the Red Devils naturally bring back visions of Alisson’s assist for Mohamed Salah – and his sprint to the Kop end to celebrate – when the Reds won 2-0 en route to lifting the Premier League title in 2020.
And for the Brazilian it is no different.
Asked for his favourite memory versus United to date, he replied: “From this game [in January 2020] for sure. That assist was special.
“The assist for Mo was something I always try to do, try to achieve. It was not special only for myself but for him as well; you know Mo, he is the guy who likes to score every time but mainly at these kinds of games.
“He is a massive player for us, so giving him an assist, being part of his 200 goals that we celebrated in the last [league] game, it is special. Mo will become a legend and I will be part of his story.”
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Watch on YouTubeRead on for more from our chat with Alisson…
On Liverpool moving top of the Premier League table with the win at Crystal Palace last weekend…
It’s really good. It was a really hard game to play, I think Crystal Palace is an opponent that is really hard to play against, mainly at their ground. The way they play, they play confidently, they can switch from a slow moment to a quick moment with counters, they have really good quality up front and a solid defence. They gave us a lot of problems, it was difficult to find the spaces to create chances.
But I think the way the team managed the situation of losing 1-0 and finishing 2-1 was something really good and is definitely something that gives you a boost. And of course, being in first place is what we want. We’ll not get driven by anything, by all the conversations that go around the title race, but we are going to take power and strength to ourselves to keep on going and focus always on the next challenge that we have in front of us.
On whether the team has not yet hit top form…
Yeah, a lot of things to improve. In terms of consistency, I think we can do much better; doing the good things with consistency will help us to achieve our goals. That’s what we are going for, that we are trying to do in the games, but of course sometimes you go to the game, you plan things at the sessions before and the things don’t come out – you have to adapt, you have to change.
Players who are coming in as well from substitutions are helping a lot, as in the last [league] game: Cody, Harvey, Joey, all of them played a big role in the victory, Ibou as well. So that’s really, really important for the team to keep that spirit and to keep doing the good things and trying to learn from the mistakes, the goals we are conceding, the chances we are conceding – trying to improve that.
On whether he feels he is at his very best this season…
Well, it was a special game [against Palace] because coming back after an injured time, it was a short period but always when you injure yourself sometimes it slows you down, but this time it didn’t. The way I worked together with the fitness department was something that kept me ongoing in a good shape, so when I came to the game I could perform in the best way as I could at that moment. I still know that I can improve in a few different things and it’s good now playing a game the way I played, going to play against your big rival – that gives you strength and gives you confidence for the next challenges.
On how he feels fitness-wise after making a quick return from injury…
Yeah, they set the times in different ways. It was a small injury but still you have to take care of it, you have to recover, you have to train as well. To be honest, I trained more being injured than I train normally! I spent a lot of the time on the bed doing treatments, I spent a lot of time in the gym, working at the training ground, working at home to be back as quick as I could. I think it wasn’t bad. I just want to be thankful here for the physios, for the medical department, for the fitness coaches, for the goalkeeper coaches and for the manager as well to trust me to bring me back to the team.
On the emotions that surround games against Manchester United…
A lot of emotions. It’s really special for us, for players and for the supporters as well. We know how big the importance is of supporters here at this club, it was one of the reasons why I came here to play for Liverpool: the atmosphere at Anfield, how the supporters can push the team forward. I think people always need to remember that, that they have a power in their hands and in their voices, that they can push us forward and make this team better. So, going and playing against Man United, you are sure you are going to have a big atmosphere at Anfield and we players are going to try to do our best to win that game and give joy and happiness for people.
On United perhaps being more dangerous because they are looking to bounce back…
Football sometimes can be tricky, things change so quick; you are going in a bad way, bad shape and suddenly things can change, you win an important game and then you get a boost from that and you just start a massive run. We know that, we had that before in the past as well. We know that they are a strong team, no matter the circumstances that are surrounding them, no matter what is going on at their club, we know they are a dangerous team and we have to play with 100 per cent of courage and use everything that we have to win that game.