McManaman: Mistake won’t ‘cast shadow’ over Alisson

Liverpool legend Steve McManaman has played down Alisson Becker’s dreadful error against Leicester City last weekend and is confident he will not make the same mistake again.

Alisson saw a run of three consecutive clean sheets come to an end after he inexplicably tried to turn Kelechi Iheanacho in the penalty area and gifted the Foxes a route back into the contest.

The Reds managed to hold on for a 2-1 win, and McManaman reckons that Alisson will swiftly learn from his mistake whilst continuing to play out from the back when possible.

“It was a big mistake by Alisson but he’ll learn not to Cruyff anyone in the box and his quotes show he won’t do it again,” McManaman told the Echo.

“He knows when to clear his lines and the most important thing is Liverpool won the game. It would have been a big problem for them if they’d lost.

“This obsession we have with playing out from the back, it’s just a new style. I don’t mind it but you need to only play when it’s on. If it’s not on, don’t take any chances and just hoof it upfield.

“He did something silly but hopefully he’ll rectify it and not do it again, the same as any player. Jurgen and his team-mates will have told him next time to kick it as far up the field as possible.

“He’s got a lot of experience, is a confident lad and a wonderful goalkeeper. One mistake is not going to cast a shadow over him.”

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LONDON, ENGLAND – AUGUST 20: Alisson of Liverpool celebrates during the Premier League match between Crystal Palace and Liverpool FC at Selhurst Park on August 20, 2018 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)

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The BT Sport pundit was also asked to predict how Liverpool would fare in this season’s Champions League after they were handed a tough group-stage draw.

He fully expects the Reds to progress as they look to go a step further than they did in last season’s competition.

“Liverpool did so well last year,” he said. “They enjoyed many magical moments and have gone out and spent money to solidify the defensive areas,” he said. “There’s a lot of people with a lot of high hopes for this season.

“Everyone associated with the club knows how special the European games are. They’ll be hungry to put it right after going so close. It is difficult to get to the Champions League Final, never mind win it, but they’ll want another good cup run.

“They were always going to get a difficult couple of teams but I still think they’ll go through. They’re very strong at the moment and teams won’t know what Anfield’s like until they play there so that’s a huge advantage for Liverpool.

“I think they’ll be fine. The group looks difficult, of course it does, but I think the likes of Napoli will be more worried by drawing Liverpool.”

during the UEFA Champions League Final between Real Madrid and Liverpool at NSC Olimpiyskiy Stadium on May 26, 2018 in Kiev, Ukraine.

Jurgen Klopp’s side kick-off their European campaign with a mouthwatering home game against Paris Saint Germain on September 18.

“PSG are a really good side, it’ll be interesting how they play,” he said. “They find Ligue 1 quite easy and don’t really get challenged so it’ll be a different type of game for them. They are desperate to win the Champions League.

“We’ll see what form they’re in when they play Liverpool and it’ll be a great game. Anfield will be absolutely bouncing and it’s a really big tie to start the tournament off.”

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Source: anfieldhq.com