Alisson vs PSG: The greatest Champions League goalkeeping display ever? | Football

Even by Alisson’s already lofty standards, the Liverpool goalkeeper’s display against Paris Saint-Germain was something to behold.

Handed a tricky last-16 Champions League draw against PSG, Arne Slot’s side were in for a tough game against one of the best – and most in-form – attacking sides on the continent.

And for perhaps the first time this season, Liverpool were second-best throughout the clash at Parc Des Princes, as Luis Enrique’s side dominated possession and the lion’s share of the chances in front of their fans.

But a sensational performance from Alisson and Harvey Elliott’s dramatic late winner – having been on the pitch for less than a minute – saw Liverpool claim a smash-and-grab win for the ages.

The 32-year-old keeper has often been regarded as best in class in his position, but Wednesday’s display now raises a fresh question: could we have just witnessed the greatest goalkeeping display the tournament has ever seen?

What do the stats say?

Alisson’s performance against PSG on Wednesday saw him break several records, both personally and for Liverpool.

The Brazilian prevented a whopping 2.3 expected goals (xG) which marked his best performance for this metric in his entire career.

The nine saves he made were also the most by a Liverpool goalkeeper in a Champions League game since records began in 2003.

And by keeping a clean sheet against the odds, Alisson set a new record of 22 Champions League clean sheets with Liverpool.

What did Alisson say?

Perhaps unsurprisingly, Alisson was pleased with his night’s work, labelling it ‘the best performance of my life’.

‘The manager was telling us how hard it was going to be to play against PSG, how good they are with the ball, we have to be ready to suffer,’ he added, speaking to TNT Sports.

‘At the end, Harvey coming in and scoring the goal, it’s unbelievable, a great story for us, a great night.’

Elliott, meanwhile, spoke in complete awe of his teammate, saying: ‘I’ve got no words, to be honest. This guy is unbelievable. The best in the world and each and every game he shows it, keeps us in so many games.

‘Tonight it’s my opportunity to repay this man. Without him, I don’t know where we’d be.’

What did others say?

It was not just teammates lining up to praise Alisson’s performance, with manager Arne Slot keen to give his keeper plaudits at full-time.

‘I have had some very good players as a manager but never the best goalkeeper in the world until now,’ said the Dutchman post-match.

‘He showed that he is the best in the world today. To go away with a win here was probably a bit more than we deserved.’

Peter Schmeichel, no stranger to a colossal goalkeeping display on the European stage, went further, insisting: ‘I think this is one of the best goalkeeping displays I’ve ever seen in my life.’

Thierry Henry, meanwhile, was struggling to recollect a greater performance in the tournament’s history.

‘I’ve seen Petr Cech doing that in every game when Chelsea won the Champions League, we’ve seen Courtois doing that in the final, but I don’t remember a lot of games like that, a lot of saves like that,’ the Frenchman said.

Where does his performance rank?

While Alisson’s performance has the benefit of recency bias, several heroic performances can challenge – and perhaps even best – the Brazilian’s submission for the greatest goalkeeping display in Champions League history.

Back in 2012, Petr Cech’s remarkable display in between the sticks helped Chelsea claim their first Champions League title against the odds versus Bayern Munich.

Cech made a number of superb saves in regular time before then denying Arjen Robben from the spot to help his side take the game all the way to penalties.

And in the decisive shootout, Cech went the right way for each of Bayern’s five penalties, eventually saving from both Ivica Olic and Bastian Schweinsteiger to allow Didier Drogba to win the trophy from the spot.

Ten years later in another final, it was Thibaut Courtois who starred in the showpiece event as he claimed man of the match for his goalkeeping heroics in a 1-0 win against Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool.

The Belgian became the first goalkeeper on record to make nine saves in a single Champions League final, most memorably tipping Sadio Mane’s fierce, driven effort from close range onto the post.

In helping his side win their record-extending 14th Champions League title, Courtois was then awarded the Yashin Trophy for best goalkeeper later in the year in large part down to his performance at the Stade de France.

Not many keepers get compliments from Lionel Messi, but Fraser Forster had the honour of being declared ‘not human’ by the Argentine after his role in helping Celtic claim a shock 2-1 win over Barcelona back in 2012.

The Scottish side secured the victory despite Barcelona having 89 per cent of the possession and 23 attempts on goal, with Forster making a staggering 13 saves.

Such was Forster’s level of performance on the night that Messi even recommended bringing the Englishman to the Nou Camp to replace the outgoing Victor Valdes.

‘The performance of Fraser Forster against us was talked about for a long time,’ Messi said about the match.

‘There was one game in Scotland when he was not human, it was the best goalkeeping performance I have seen.

‘When Victor Valdes said that he was leaving Barcelona we even talked about him playing here.’

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