Jurgen Klopp praises Alisson ball-playing skills after Liverpool debut

Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has complimented Alisson‘s footwork after his unofficial debut against Napoli.

The 25-year-old Brazilian shot-stopper recently ended a two-year association with AS Roma by relocating to Anfield for a £67m, a record fee for a goalkeeper.

His first appearance saw him come toe to toe with former Serie A rivals Napoli, now managed by Carlo Ancelotti, in a match the Reds won 5-0. But it was the performance of their goalkeeper which pleased Klopp the most.

“He’s quite a good footballer – probably as good as the goalie he is,” he told reporters after the game, according to FourFourTwo.

“[It was] an all-round good performance for the first game, especially because I think everyone can imagine what happens inside a human being in a situation like that, playing the first game after all the things that were written about it and all that stuff.

“Playing against Napoli, it was the strongest side we played so far, 100 per cent. They had nearly a full squad here and it can look completely different.”

“He was very, very aware of all situations when he was needed behind a high last line,” he added.

“We involved him a lot in our build-up, but we need to get used to that a little bit more still – that’s clear, [and] he needs to get used to it a little bit more, but there were a lot of good build-up situations, so that helps.

“But at the end he’s there to catch balls and he did that in all the decisive moments, so I’m really pleased.”

From Novo Hamburgo to Liverpool: Alisson’s story

Since joining from boyhood club Internacional in 2016, the native of Novo Hamburgo bided his time before attaining Roma’s number one jersey. Once in possession, following Wojciech Szczesny’s move to Juventus, Alisson never looked back. He ultimately made 64 appearances across the last two seasons and kept 26 clean sheets in the process (40.6%).

In those outings, Alisson would ship in 66 goals (one every 87 minutes) or 1.03 per game. His performances attracted the attention of many, but in the end, Liverpool won his signature, making him the Reds’ fourth major arrival this summer following Naby Keita, Fabinho and Xherdan Shaqiri.

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