‘I’d Have Paid Double!’ – Jurgen Klopp Lauds Goalkeeper Alisson After Stoppage Time Heroics Keep Liverpool In Champions League

Chris Wright

12th, December 2018

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Jurgen Klopp said he would have happily paid double for Alisson Becker after the Brazilian goalkeeper’s stoppage time heroics against Napoli on Tuesday night.

With Liverpool attempting to squeak into the knockout phase by nursing a slim 1-0 lead over the line, Becker pulled off a point-blank save to deny Arkadiusz Milik an equaliser with mere seconds left to play – a goal which would’ve effectively eliminated the Reds there and then.

Alisson was a world-record purchase when he arrived from Roma in exchange for £65million over the summer, but the skilful stopper has already set about repaying his hefty price tag.

Regardless, Klopp later admitted that he’d have happily paid upwards of £130million for his services had he known just how instantly effective the 26-year-old would be:

If I knew Alisson was this good I would have paid double. It was not only one save. He had a lot of things to do tonight. How cool and calm he was with the ball helps us a lot in our buildup situations. When he comes out for crosses he is outstanding. And, yes, that save was just incredible.

But if we don’t defend the whole pitch like we defended, Ali cannot make 20 saves like the last one. He did it: incredible, unbelievable. I never saw something similar. But still he needs the other boys around him. I couldn’t be more proud of all the people involved – ‘thank you’.

Indeed, it’s estimated that in monetary terms, Alisson’s save alone was worth around £11million in terms of qualification revenue – not bad for a split-second’s work.