Despite Liverpool’s struggles this season, Virgil van Dijk believes goalkeeper Alisson Becker is more than worthy of recognition for his achievements. Alisson brought up a century of clean sheets in the game against Mohamed Salah’s 100th goal at Anfield, and Van Dijk recognized his contribution to the team. He praised Alisson for his leadership both on and off the pitch, and for his quality saves. Van Dijk also noted that Alisson has the highest risk factor in the team, as any mistake from him could lead to a goal. He believes that the team’s commitment and reaction when they lose the ball has been important in their recent successes.
Van Dijk also could not fail to recognize the enduring excellence of Salah, who has drawn level with Steven Gerrard as the club’s joint-fifth all-time goalscorer on 186. He praised Salah for his consistency and for staying fit, noting that his numbers speak for themselves. He believes that the respect for Salah will come after he has stopped playing, but that Salah does not care about that anyway.
Brentford’s bid for European football appears to be fading after just two wins in the last nine matches. Head coach Thomas Frank noted that they need to perform almost perfectly against top-six sides to get a point or win, and that they have been close but not quite perfect.