With just six games left to play in the Premier League, it now feels impossible that Liverpool will not be celebrating a championship win at Anfield on May 25th.

Ultimately, the Reds had Virgil van Dijk to thank for the points, with the captain heading home in the dying minutes to clinch the game.

But while Van Dijk certainly played his part, the Dutch defender was not the player Liverpool supporters should be thanking above all on Sunday.

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Instead, having delivered some crucial moments yet again, Alisson Becker was the rightful man of the match.

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Despite Van Dijk’s late winner and Luis Diaz getting the opener, Mohamed Salah was actually awarded man of the match by Sky Sports.

But while Salah had a big hand in Diaz’s goal and Van Dijk obviously got the winner, Alisson was clearly Liverpool’s crucial player on Sunday.

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The Brazilian made four big, big saves to keep the score at 1-0.

Former England goalkeeper Paul Robinson thought Alisson was ‘brilliant‘ in the first-half to deny Carlos Soler and then Mohammed Kudus, while the second-half brought two more terrific stops.

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The first was another of his speciality one-on-one saves, with Liverpool’s nemesis Jarrod Bowen running clean through before being thwarted by Alisson.

Then came the best of the bunch, as the 32-year-old got down lightning quick to flick Kudus’ effort across goal away to safety.

It has been another slightly frustrating season for Alisson having missed 10 Premier League matches so far.

But when the Brazil international plays he almost always steps up to show just how crucial he is to this team.

Giorgi Mamardashvili will arrive this summer and while the Georgian is doubtless a very good goalkeeper, days like Sunday show that Alisson must retain the number one shirt.

Manchester United’s struggles with Andre Onana on the same day provided a good backdrop into just how pivotal getting the goalkeeping position right is.

Alisson has shown once again that he is the very best in the business.
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