Brazil opted against calling up Liverpool’s Alisson Becker to international duty last week and on Saturday night, they suffered a 2-1 loss at the hands of Morocco.
Alisson Becker has been an ever-present figure for the Brazilian national team since his emergence as an elite goalkeeper. Indeed, he was regarded as his country’s first-choice option even before moving to Europe, having been selected during his days as a player for Internacional.
There is a reason why the Liverpool goalkeeper is regarded as so important. In addition to being a true leader, an expert sweeper keeper and a master with the ball at his feet unlike many of his peers, the Reds number one is also virtually unrivaled when it comes to making saves.
As a shot-stopper, Alisson ranks among the very best on the planet, with his performances capable of being captured using the numbers beneath the surface. This season, he’s faced 105 shots on target in the Premier League, and those shots have been worth around 37.2 expected goals, yet he’s conceded just 27 times — excluding own goals — with those figures essentially suggesting that he’s overperformed the average by roughly 10.2 goals.
In simple terms, if a perfectly average goalkeeper had faced the same shots that Alisson has faced this term, the Reds would have likely conceded around 10 goals more than their actual total, which highlights the difference made by the South American.
No goalkeeper in the whole of England’s top flight is overperforming by more than him this season. Chelsea’s Kepa Arrizabalaga ranks second on +6.4, followed by Fulham’s Bernd Leno on +3.4 and Bournemouth’s Neto on +3.3.
At the opposite end of the scale, Southampton’s Gavin Bazunu has been the league’s worst shot-stopper — conceding around 10.6 more than expected — with Bournemouth’s Mark Travers and Leeds United’s Illan Meslier also showing up in a negative light.
Since Alisson moved to England in 2018, he’s overperformed expected goals by an impressive total of 17.5 goals. For perspective, Manchester United’s David de Gea has actually underperformed expectations over the same period, conceding around six goals more than expected in the Premier League.
Alisson’s status as the best is obvious for the most part, yet last week, Brazil’s interim coach, Ramon Menezes, made the curious decision to leave him on Merseyside, instead calling up Manchester City’s Ederson, Palmeiras’ Waverton and Athletico Paranaense’s Mycael for his team’s friendly clash with Morocco.
It remains to be seen exactly why the Liverpool goalkeeper was snubbed by Menezes; he could have a perfectly reasonable explanation behind his selection, but even Ederson stated that he was ‘surprised’ by the controversial decision.
Brazil later competed without Alisson, and after the final whistle, they had lost by two goals to one, with two of the three of the shots on target posted by Morocco finding the net. Both Vinícius Júnior and Casemiro started the bout — and the latter managed to score — but they didn’t do enough to avoid defeat.
It is unclear as to whether Menezes will get the job on a permanent basis but if he does, he has already learned the valuable lesson that Liverpool realized back in 2018; it is not worth cutting corners when it comes to goalkeepers, as those players can decide results on their own.
